Georgia is considering shifting part of its wheat imports from road transport to rail due to growing logistical risks and uncertainty at border crossings. According to Levan Silagava, head of the Wheat and Flour Producers Association, importing wheat by truck has become “unstable and risky,” especially after Russia shortened the permitted stay of foreign drivers, including those from Kazakhstan and other CIS countries. This has already caused bottlenecks and delays at the border.
Silagava warns that relying solely on trucks could create serious supply challenges, as road transport is highly vulnerable to sanctions, seasonal closures, and sudden regulatory changes. To reduce these risks, the sector is now in talks with the Georgian Railway to develop competitive bulk-volume tariffs and make rail transport a viable alternative.
He notes that rail and sea-rail logistics offer major advantages: they allow the delivery of large consignments and help build strategic reserves, something that is difficult to achieve with truck shipments. A more “civilized and predictable” trading model, Silagava says, is essential to ensure stable supplies of critical goods and avoid disruptions in the food security chain.
Russia remains Georgia’s dominant wheat supplier, 79% of the country’s imports come from the Russian market. In the first 11 months of 2025, Georgia purchased 360,400 tons of Russian wheat worth $91.2 million, most of which arrived by road. But with Russia now limiting foreign truck drivers’ stay from 180 to 90 days, including cases of fines and deportations, the pressure to diversify logistics routes is increasing.
