Kumisi poultry farm director Gogi Maisuradze has rejected claims that bird flu is threatening Georgia’s egg production sector or causing a decline in output. He said the company is open to inspections, laboratory testing and media visits to demonstrate the safety of its production.
According to Maisuradze, bird flu was a global challenge around a year and a half ago and affected Georgia’s poultry sector to some extent. He said preventive measures were taken in cooperation with the Agriculture Ministry, including vaccination with European vaccines. “Over the past year, there has been no problem in this regard. Kumisi has recorded 12% growth in production, while other major farms are also growing,” he said.
Maisuradze said the rise in egg imports is not linked to declining domestic production. He noted that around 90–95% of imported eggs come from Turkey and said Turkish exports to Georgia temporarily fell last year after the US faced a major egg shortage caused by bird flu. As conditions stabilized in the US and Europe, Turkey resumed exports to traditional markets, including Georgia.
Georgia imported around 20 million eggs worth $1.5 million in the first eight months of this year, compared with 1 million in the same period last year and 11 million in 2024. Chirina founder Revaz Vashakidze, however, has attributed the increase to bird flu affecting domestic farms and said the company halted chicken meat production for four months, incurring an estimated GEL12 million loss.
