No cases of bird flu are currently detected in Georgia’s poultry market, according to Zurab Uchumbegashvili, chairman of the Poultry Development Association. He said the market remains healthy and product safety is regularly verified through laboratory testing.
“I can say with full responsibility that at this stage, no bird flu, whether highly or low pathogenic, has been detected in Georgia,” Uchumbegashvili told BMG. He said the findings are supported by tests conducted in local and foreign laboratories, as well as routine checks carried out by the National Food Agency at least twice a month. According to him, reports of bird flu are unfounded and could seriously harm the sector.
Uchumbegashvili also said domestic egg production has been growing by 15–20 million units annually over the past six to seven years. Georgia produced 693 million eggs last year, while production is expected to exceed 700 million this year. He added that the recent increase in egg imports largely reflects a return to normal levels after last year’s unusually low figures, when bird flu in the US prompted Turkey to redirect surplus production to the US market, temporarily reducing supplies to Georgia.
Georgia imported around 20 million eggs worth $1.5 million in the first eight months of this year, compared with 1 million eggs in the same period last year and 11 million in 2024. Meanwhile, Chirina founder Revaz Vashakidze has attributed the sharp rise in imports to the circulation of bird flu, saying it reduced domestic egg production. He previously said Chirina halted chicken meat production for four months because of the virus, resulting in an estimated GEL12 million loss.
