France, China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United States of America - these are the countries from which the demand for Georgian honey arose after the Georgian honey producers participated in global world exhibitions with the help of the European Union, Austria and Sweden.
One of the companies that introduced honey to the international market through the GRETA project is the GEO NATURAL company operating in Racha.
"There is quite a lot of interest and it will continue. Two contracts were signed. There was also demand from European countries, including France, and feedback from China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and America. When we go to an international exhibition the entire country is promoted there.
Many people said that they saw our honey at the exhibition, tasted it and contacted us from there", says Giorgi Iashvili, co-founder of the GEO NATURAL.
The company signed an agreement with 2 foreign partners with the help of "Greta" and exported honey.
"The GRETA project, which is funded by the European Union, Sweden and Austria, supports the beneficiaries, including in terms of marketing, which ultimately results in more sales.
International marketing has specific tools, we are trying to use all the tools we have in our hands to introduce Georgian organic products to the world", - says the marketing and monitoring manager of the GRETA project, Tata Sakvarelidze.
According to the honey producers, the involvement of the export manager, who helps the producers to find suitable foreign partners and communicate with them, has an important role in the support of the European Union, Austria and Sweden.
GEO NATURAL focused on organic production and with the support of the European Union, Austria and Sweden, started the processes of organic certification of products.
The company declares that Georgia should focus on organic production, because it has the resources to meet the required volumes and earn 2 times more income.
"During the price comparison, we found out that bio-produced honey is twice as expensive. Since we have our main production in Racha and the region itself is ecologically clean, this gives us the opportunity to produce high quality honey.
However, if it is not certified, it cannot be considered as organic honey, therefore, we decided to take the appropriate steps", says Giorgi Iashvili, co-founder of GEO NATURAL.
