Grape Purchasing Prices Adjusted Amid Kakheti Protests As Officials Expect ‘Unprecedented Harvest’

Georgian authorities adjusted grape purchasing prices following two days of protests by grape growers in the country’s eastern wine-making region of Kakheti, where locals demanded higher prices for their harvest, including by blocking roads and paralyzing local traffic. The protests, which ended following the government’s September 22 decision to revise the prices, come amid what officials have described as an “unprecedented” harvest in the history of the country’s independence, but also climate-related challenges reportedly affecting the sugar content of grapes. The demonstrations began in Shilda, a village in Kvareli Municipality, before spreading to Akhalsopeli and Velistsikhe villages. Some growers refused to deliver their harvested grapes, with grape-laden vehicles remaining lined up near purchasing facilities, and resumed deliveries only after authorities adjusted the prices.

Much of the discontent focused on the more recent pricing scheme that differentiates between grapes by sugar content and grape condition. Under the pricing scheme announced in August for this year’s harvest, in the event of a surplus harvest, the state-run Harvest Management Company would purchase grapes at a pre-defined differentiated scheme, first introduced during last year’s harvest and meant to promote the production of “competitive and high-value products. ” For most grape varieties, grapes with sugar content below 17% would be purchased by the state for GEL 0. 3 (USD 0. 12) per kilogram, while those with sugar content between 17% and 20% receive GEL 0. 8 (USD 0. 31). Undamaged grapes exceeding 20% sugar content were priced at GEL 1. 3 (USD 0. 5) per kilogram. Different thresholds applied to Saperavi grapes, with the state paying GEL 1. 5 (USD 0. 58) per kilogram for undamaged grapes with a…