Private sector and human-resource development in Georgia (стр. 16 из 26)

During 1994-2001 Georgia was a net exporter of tea, although it also was a substantial importer and the balance of trade appears to be turning against Georgia (Table 5, Figure 4). In the early and mid 1990s the major importers of Georgian tea were in the FSU, but since 1997 geographic coverage has widened as processors developed new markets. Exports of Georgia tea to US, Germany, and Poland show an increase (Table 6).

Tea remains an important cash crop among rural households in most of West Georgia. The share of households in total tealeaf production in 1999 was 43 percent, in 2000, 34 percent, and 93 percent in 2001 (Table 7).

Table 1. Land under Tea Plantations, 2001

Region	District	Total Agricultural Land, ha	Total Area under Tea Plantations, ha	Area of Tea Plantations Damaged, ha	Area of Usable Plantations, ha	Percent of Plantations Damaged, %	Share of the Region in total agricultural land of Georgia	Area of Land under Tea as Percent of Total Agricultural Land in Region
Ajara	Regional Total	9590	5,518	1,674	3,844	30%	1.70	58
Samegrelo	Zugdidi	10,169	5,061	654	4,407	13%	1.80	50
Martvili	9,334	2,721	330	2,391	12%	1.65	29
Senaki	9,699	1,202	324	878	27%	1.72	12
Chkhorotsku	4,830	2,492	463	2,029	19%	0.86	52
Tsalenjikha	3,886	2,993	0	2,993	0%	0.69	77
Abasha	9,654	67	67	0	100%	1.71	1
Khobi	10,340	1,438	0	1,438	0%	1.83	14
Regional Total	58524	15974	1838	14136	12	10.37	27
Guria	Ozurgeti	5,501	7,358	890	6,468	12%	0.97
Lanchkhuti	7,864	1,988	445	1,543	22%	1.39	25
Chokhatauri	3,720	1,786	518	1,268	29%	0.66	48
Regional Total	17085	15,974	1,838	14,136	12%	3.03	65
Imereti	Tskaltubo	12,025	1,141	385	756	34%	2.13	9
Tkibuli	3,811	1,073	200	873	19%	0.68	28
Chiatura	7,323	246	38	208	15%	1.30	3
Vani	5,335	130	70	60	54%	0.95	2
Zestafoni	6,127	38	0	38	0%	1.09	1
Terjola	7,741	120	39	81	33%	1.37	2
Samtredia	8,103	380	0	380	0%	1.44	5
Khoni	6,971	1,544	790	754	51%	1.23	22
Regional Total	73065	11,132	1,853	9,279	17%	12.94	6
Georgia, Excluding Abkhazeti	TOTAL	564,518	37,296	6,887	30,409	18%	28%	7

Source: State Department of Statistics of Georgia, author's estimates. The data for Ozurgeti clearly contain an error.

Table 2. Annual Tea Leaf Production in Georgia, 1985-2001

(tons)

1985	581,200
1990	501,700
1994	60,700
1995	38,500
1996	34,000
1997	33,200
1998	47,200
1999	60,330
2000	23,999
2001	23,000

Source: State Department of Statistics of Georgia

Table 3. Tea Leaf Production by Regions, tons

Ajara	Imereti	Samegrelo	Guria	Georgia
1999	7,326	6,693	28,791	17,520	60,330
2000	2,914	2,662	11,453	6,970	23,999
2001	1,924	1,050	12,518	7,508	23,000

Source: State Department of Statistics of Georgia, author's estimates

Table 4. Tea Processing, 1994-2001

(tons)

1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
First Stage Processing, Including	13,424.3	7,992.0	8,895.7	9,158.5	9,988.9	12,897.8	4,793.1	4,478.6
Black Baikhi	6,732.0	5,804.7	6,152.6	8,360.7	11,789.8	4,361.9	4,219.4
Green Baikhi	1,260.0	3,091.0	3,005.9	1,628.2	1,108.0	431.2	259.2
Natural Tea, Including	4,473.3	4,230.0	3,747.4	7,759.2	4,871.0	4,509.0	3,014.7	3,765.1
Packed	4,003.9	1,997.2	2,796.2	6,420.0	2,955.7	2,648.4	1,904.8	2,695.5
Green Break	469.4	2,232.8	951.2	1,339.2	1,915.3	1,860.6	1,109.9	1,069.6
Granulated Tea	144.0	890.1	605.3	474.1	658.7
Liquid Tea	39.0	58.0
Total	17,897.6	12,222.0	12,643.1	17,061.7	15,750.0	18,012.1	8,320.9	8,960.4

Source: State Department of Statistics

Table 5. Georgia’s Tea Trade

Imports, USD	Exports, USD	Coverage Ratio, %
1994	12439	11555495	929.0
1995	157876	8380262	53.1
1996	151898	16814164	110.7
1997	292190	13872490	47.5
1998	434761	8918643	20.5
1999	380428	11394714	30.0
2000	536702	6084280	11.3
2001	544454	5792750	10.6

Source: State Department of Statistics, author’s estimates