Exporting to Georgia – A market you may not have considered
Exporting to Georgia – About Georgia
Exporting to Georgia, firstly a short introduction to a country I have come to know well. Georgia is a country in the south Caucasus with a population of around 3.7 million and a GDP of 18.6 billion USD. The country has a per capita income of 5,023 USD and the largest city and capital is Tbilisi. The Georgian economy has been a relative success story over the previous decade and is projected to grow by 5.2% in 2023 and by 4.6% in 2024. The three key areas of the Georgian economy are agriculture, tourism and construction.
There is considerable investment in the Georgian infrastructure currently with major road and rail building projects, this is in part being financed by the Asian Investment Bank. If you need to travel for a business meeting, there are three international airports, Tbilisi, Batumi and Kutaisi. As someone who lived in Georgia for over 5 years I would recommend flying into Kutaisi and using the transfer buses from there.
Exporting to Georgia – What does Georgia export and import
If you are looking to source products in Georgia then of course agricultural products including particularly fruits, nuts and meats, are major exports. There are some products that you may not associate with Georgia that are major exports, these being motor cars (a major factory is based in Kutaisi) and metals including copper ore and ferroalloys.
Georgia is famous for its wine production and is considered to be the first country to produce wine. There are a fine selection of high quality wines, red, white and rose. Georgian wines are very reasonably priced and arguably offer the best combination of price and quality of any country. I would recommend Saperavi. Georgia also has a fine selection of mineral waters both still and carbonated.
Now which products are the main options for exporting to Georgia? The main imports of Georgia include wheat and meslin, pharmaceutical products, sugar, electrical products, oil and motor cars. The main international trading partners for Georgia are Turkey, Ukraine, USA, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Canada and Bulgaria.
Exporting to Georgia – Top sales tips for exporting to Georgia
For exporting to Georgia it is well worth taking some time to understand the local culture. Georgian people take a huge pride in the beauty and culture of their country, probably more than any other country I know. So try to learn a bit about the country and some of the most famous places such as Tbilisi and Svaneti, this will impress Georgians and give you an advantage over competitors.
To foreigners the way things are done in Georgia can seem a little bit ‘eccentric’ so be patient and expect the unexpected when dealing with potential buyers of your products. Other than Georgian the two most commonly spoken languages are Russian and English, however, speaking in Russian can be offensive to many Georgians so use a Georgian interpreter or speak in English when meeting with Georgian business people in person or online.
Food and drink are very important in Georgian culture – along with music and dancing. So if possible and if you deem the opportunity big enough it is a good idea to try to get a face to face meeting with your potential buyers and combine that meeting with at least one social meeting in a restaurant, this will increase your chances of closing the deal.
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Exporting to Georgia – Local help
The main office for blackcat360.com is based in the port city of Batumi. We have extensive local knowledge and contacts in Georgia and will be able to help you in endeavors to build export sales in Georgia. Please contact us via email info@blackcat360.com if you need help, we will be prepared to provide an initial consultancy free of charge.
Detailed information about Georgian imports can be found here:Â https://tradingeconomics.com/georgia/imports#:~:text=Georgia’s%20main%20imports%20are%20oil,meslin%2C%20sugar%20and%20electrical%20equipment
Exporting to Georgia – Other useful articles for exporters and importers
This is a blackcat360.com listing by one of our Georgia suppliers – wine producers Winery Gileni
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Exporting to Georgia
