Azerbaijani tea producer to open Georgian plant

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A leading Azeri food company is set to expand its Georgian operations by building a new tea plant in Tbilisi.

According to Kazim Babayev, Azersun Holding, which is known as the major producer and exporter of Azerbaijani’s food industry, intends to invest $2 million in the tea production sector of Georgia. Babayey said last week the company intends to develop “a long-term plan for a tea developing strategy in Georgia.”

It is expected that Azersun’s Georgian plant will also target foreign markets.

“Georgia’s economy is developing very rapidly, so now it’s high time to make a new investment here,” Babayev said at a press conference Nov. 14. 

Azersun Holding Group first came to Georgia as an exporter in 1999. Its subsidiary, Sun Tea Azerbaycan, which produces Pasha, Final and Maryam brand teas currently holds the largest part of the Georgian tea market by processing about 10,000 tons of tea each year.

“In the first phase, the Azeri investors will collect raw material from local farmers to help produce 2,000 tons of packed tea a year,” Babayev said. “We also plan to import raw material from India and Sri Lanka in the future.”

It is expected that plant construction will start next year, but the completion date is still unknown. About 30 people will be employed, he added.

The official statistics show that 90 percent of the tea consumed in Georgia is imported. The imports mainly come from Turkey, China, Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka.

Tea production, a flourishing business in Georgia in the Soviet Union, suffered a severe decline in production over the past seven years. Last year, Georgia’s tea production was about 5,000 tons, compared with 23,000 tons in 2001. The Georgian State Statistics Department said during Soviet rule the country produced over 500,000 tons of tea annually.  

Azersun, a newcomer to the Georgian tea market, will have to compete with a number of local players such as Ternali, Geoplant, Anaseuli, Tkhibuli, Tonusi and  Elitist Tea. 
According to Georgian consumers, their favorite tea brands are imported – British Riston and Azerbaijan’s Maryam.

“Since the Soviet times, I do not think I have frequently come across Georgian produced teas,” said Tamar Bregvadze, who is 65 years old and living in Tbilisi. “Are there many?”
While locals seem keen on drinking foreign tea brands with their morning cake or butter and bread, local tea producers are looking to the overseas markets.

The Georgian State Statistics Department said in a report that Georgia exported 4,500 tons of tea in 2008, which made up 90 percent of the country’s total tea production. The export destinations were Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Mongolia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, the U.S. and Armenia.

Nino Edilashvili

20.11.2009