Livestock in Georgia

Investing in livestock is considered one of the most successful and profitable ways of investment in Georgia. Due to the favorable climate, abundant water resources, vast pastures and the possibility of providing cheap fodder, as well as government support in allocating free land to investors, investment in the livestock in Georgia has become attractive. In addition, the easy and cheap access to advanced machinery and cheap labor in this country, the wide domestic and foreign target market and the ever-increasing need for livestock products have made this industry a profitable and fast-growing investment.

More than 40% of the area of Georgia has the ability to grow agricultural products, raise livestock and water plants, and has uniform and wide rainfall, 22 regions with different climates and 4 seasons nature. The presence of green and vast plains, springs, rivers and high mountains provide special conditions for livestock industry in this country. There is no need to buy fodder in most areas to feed livestock due to suitable and acceptable vegetation. However, you should choose areas for livestock in Georgia that have more suitable vegetation than other areas.

Government support for livestock in Georgia is very diverse. In the “Made in Georgia” project, which started in 2019, the government supports domestic production and attracts investors to the livestock industry by providing low-interest facilities, giving free land, tax exemptions for livestock industry projects, and providing temporary support packages. It is also possible to import agricultural and livestock industry machinery and tools from Europe and the U.S. without customs duty, which has reduced the investment costs in the livestock industry in Georgia.

Energy costs are also one of the influential factors in the economization of livestock industry projects in Georgia. The cost of energy carriers (water, electricity and gas) in Georgia is lower than in European countries, and this reduces the cost of producing livestock and livestock industry products in Georgia and economically justifies the export of these products to the European Union. Gas consuming industrial units can negotiate with any of the gas distribution companies in Georgia and get the best price.

Consumers who consume more than one million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year can, by introducing themselves to the government, purchase electricity directly from commercial electricity distributors (ESCO) or from power plants that produce electricity widely across the country. They are buying at an agreed price.

In recent years, the livestock in Georgia has attracted the attention of many foreign investors. This industry includes production and breeding of meat and dairy animals such as cows, calves, pigs, sheep, goats and poultry such as chickens, turkeys, quails and ostriches. In Georgia, fans of chicken meat are the most numerous, and turkeys, quails and ostriches are bred for export to European markets. According to the export and import agreement with 0% tariff between Georgia and the European Union, excellent conditions have been provided for exporting and entering the European markets. In addition, in Georgia, due to the religious beliefs of Christians, the consumption of sheep meat is low, but due to the suitable market of the neighboring Muslim countries and the countries of the Persian Gulf, the breeding and export of sheep meat is also very popular.

Despite the fact that Georgia has a lot of potential for livestock industry, most of the red and white meat it needs is imported. In the past years, 80% of chicken meat, 50% of pork and 25% of beef were imported. According to import statistics in 2019, more than 64 million dollars of chicken meat, 30 million dollars of pork, 14 million dollars of beef and 33 million dollars of fish were imported into Georgia from other countries.

In Georgia, per capita pork consumption is 7 kg per year and more than 50% of this amount is imported. According to the statistics, investing in the field of livestock in Georgia provides a guaranteed product sales market. Also, the lack of dairy cows and the decrease in milk production in Georgia have caused the price of raw milk to increase in this country compared to Europe, and this shows the high potential of investment in the field of dairy cattle breeding in Georgia.

Approximately 12% of Georgian people’s meat consumption is fish. For this reason, the cultivation of freshwater fish such as trout and salmon in Georgia is highly profitable and highly productive due to the presence of rich water resources.