Agriculture and Trade in the Caucasus Region
The country of Georgia is a semi-presidential republic located in the southern Caucasus region, on the northern edge of the Middle East. Formerly a member of the Soviet Union, Georgia transitioned towards independence, democracy, and a free market economy starting in 1991. Today, the country has a total territory of 69.700 square kilometers, which is somewhat larger than West Virginia. Mostly rugged mountains dominate the northern parts of the country, while valleys occupy the interior and coastal plains are found along the 310 kilometers of Black Sea coastline. Likewise, Georgia has a total population of approximately 5 million citizens, 54% of which live in an urban setting, notably the capital city of Tbilisi with more than 1.2 million inhabitants. The national annual gross domestic product (GDP) of Georgia is US$37 billion (PPP) and it has experienced positive economic growth upwards of 2.5% in recent years. The national economy is divided into 10% agriculture, 22% manufacturing, and 68% services. Similarly, it is estimated that the agricultural industry employs 56% of the national labor force, while manufacturing employs 9%, and services employ another 35%. Meanwhile, the agriculture industry utilizes 36% of the national territory, while another 39% is forested.
Agriculture and Trade in the Caucasus Region
In terms of natural resources, Georgia has timber, hydropower, manganese, iron ore, copper, coal, gold, oil, and rich soils. Within manufacturing, the national industry is focused on steel, machinery, electrical appliances, mining, chemicals, wood products, and wine. Likewise, a significant portion of the Georgian economy is dependent upon tourism. Simultaneously, the country’s agricultural industry has as main products citrus, grapes, tea, hazelnuts, vegetables, and livestock. During 2015, Georgia imported US$7.7 billion worth of goods and exported US$2.8 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of about US$4.9 billion. Furthermore, that same year, Georgia’s main export, representing 9.3% or US$257 million of the country’s total, was copper ore. Similarly, the country’s main import, representing 9.6% or US$743 million of all international purchases, were packaged medicaments. In terms of trade, Georgia belongs to the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), which includes Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine. Likewise, Georgia’s main partners are Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, and the United States, amongst others.
Unfortunately, in Georgia, some 300.000 people currently suffer from undernourishment. Meanwhile, land distribution and output in the country have also evolved throughout the last several decades. Back in 1992, permanent pastures and meadows in the country covered 2.1 million hectares, while arable land represented 795.000 hectares and permanent crops accounted for 334.000 hectares. More recently, by 2014, permanent pastures and meadows accounted for almost 2 million hectares, while arable land represented 457.000 hectares and permanent crops covered 160.000 hectares. Similarly, in 1992, the cereals market in Georgia utilized approximately 250.000 hectares of land and yielded almost 500.000 metric tons annually. Finally, in 2014, the country devoted some 221.000 hectares of land to cereals production and yielded 441.800 metric tons.