Georgia imports 64% less wheat in H1
TBILISI. Aug 12 (Interfax) - Georgia imported 132,400 tonnes of wheat in the first half of this year, 64.3% less than the 367,300 tonnes it did in H1 last year, the country's National Statistics Service told Interfax.
That wheat cost $44.054 million, down 47.6% from $84.059 million in January-June 2012. The wheat mainly came from Russia, Kazakhstan, and Switzerland.
Georgia imported 970,000 tonnes of wheat for $240 million last year, respectively 43.3% and 30.3% up from 2011.
The country needs 750,000 to 800,000 tonnes of wheat on an annual basis, but only produces 10% to 15% of that.
According to the Georgian Agriculture Ministry, this year's wheat harvest is expected to weigh in at 155,000 tonnes, nearly twice last year's 80,700 tonnes. The country has expanded the area planted with wheat by 83% to 91,400 hectares.