Georgia expects grape harvest to rise by 40%

Georgia expects to harvest about 170,000 tons of grapes, exceeding the
previous year’s harvest by 40.9%, Interfax reports.

Harvesting will start in the Kakheti Region (Eastern Georgia) in late
August – early September. Kakheti has about 35,000 hectares of
vineyards, with at least 120,000 to be collected.

Special attention is paid to wine factories for reception and
processing of raw grapes. About 60% of the harvest will be purchased
and processed by the wine factories.

The government will provide finances for wine-makers from the reserve
fund. Part of the sum will be spent on pre-payments for every kilo of
grapes.

The National Statistics Service said that 120,700 tons of grape were
collected in 2010, exceeding the quantity in 2009 by 19.6%.