Georgia remains the strategic economic partner for Ukraine, especially in the agricultural sector. During 11 months of 2015, trade turnover between the countries totaled nearly 230 mln USD. At the same time, Ukraine keeps the positive balance of foreign trade at 161 mln USD, and is ready to increase the index, at the expense of increasing of the export trading, declared the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, Oleksiy Pavlenko during a meeting with the Minister of Agriculture of Georgia, Otar Danelia on January 19.
O.Pavlenko noted that during 11 months of 2015, the Ukrainian exports to Georgia totaled nearly 196 mln USD. The list of main commodities includes tobacco and its products (60.7 mln USD), vegetable oils (14 mln USD), foodstuffs of animal origin (11.9 mln USD), cacao beans and its by-products, chocolate (11.5 mln USD), grain by-products (10.3 mln USD), and other food products (9.6 mln USD).
The imports reached 34 mln USD. The list of Georgian commodities supplied to Ukraine included natural and mineral water (11 mln USD), alcohol (9 mln USD), wines (7 mln USD), fruits, nuts and citrus gratings (2 mln USD), and vegetables, plants and root crops (1.7 mln USD).
The Minister recalled that cooperation in the sphere of agriculture between Ukraine and Georgia is realized within frames of meetings of the intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation, and the Ukrainian-Georgian working group on agricultural industry cooperation.
According to him, Ukraine plans to develop the current bilateral relations with Georgia in the grain industry, the sector of animal health and phytosanitary, winemaking, land relations, cattle breeding, scientific and educational spheres. In particular, the Ministry plans to continue cooperation on the exchange of new promising varieties and hybrids of grains and vegetable crops, realize joint researches on biotechnology, genetics and cattle breeding, as well as use the successful experience of Georgia in development of the wine industry.
The topic on cooperation in the sphere of agriculture between Ukraine and Georgia will be one of the most important ones within frames of the Caspian and Black Sea Agrarian Congress, to be held in Baku on April 12-13, 2016.
