The main challenge in the almond sector is the competence of the staff - this was discussed by Levan Diasamidze, CEO of IberCompany Holding, on BMGtv's "Business Week".
He says that because of this, they had to hire Spanish consultants and got the result. The company succeeded and exceeded the initial target.
The yield at this stage amounts to 370 tons per year, and eventually "IberCompany" plans to increase it to 1,000 tons.
"We have almond orchards on 157 thousand hectares near the Red Bridge. There are about 90 thousand almond trees planted in the orchards.
As for the business itself, it is a rather difficult sector. I have heard from many that they are facing great obstacles. Basically, this is part of the competence. Therefore, we have taken the path of involving Spanish consultants, whom we have not been able to replace to this day, which I say with great sadness.
Now, the result is that we have reached the parameters planned at the beginning. Which means that 2024 was exceptionally profitable. We received up to 370 tons of almonds. In total, we plan to increase to 1,000 tons. As of today, we are selling whole [shelled] almonds, the price is about $ 1.47. We hope that this price will increase even more. The demand trend is very positive.
It is also very important that processing enterprises were created through grants and the demand from local businesses is quite high. We are already being asked to sign contracts for the next sales season. There are 4 such producers.
Our goal is to replace imports and export Georgian almonds. We are already laying our foundation in this direction," said Levan Diasamidze.
