Georgia imposes temporary duty on flour imports

YEREVAN, June 12. /ARKA/. A temporary duty on imports of wheat flour in Georgia to support local producers entered into force on Monday, the government said, according to Tass news agency.

Now, when importing more than 200 kg of wheat flour, each 1 kg above that threshold is subject to a duty of 0.2 lari (about $0.08). The exception are products with EUR-1 certificate that enable importers to import goods at a reduced or nil rate of import duty from the European Union.

The duty will be valid until November 1, 2023. Earlier, Georgia’s Minister of Environment Protection and Agriculture of Georgia Otar Shamugia said the duty would be imposed to improvr the competitiveness of Georgian wheat producers and prevent rise in bread prices.

Georgian wheat growing farmers have been protesting because of imports of cheap flour and wheat that made their products less competitive.

Georgia is only 15% self-sufficient in wheat. The rest is imported mainly from Russia. In 2022, Georgia imported more than 184 thousand tons of wheat from Russia. It imported also wheat from Kazakhstan and Ukraine. The Georgian authorities have repeatedly stated that in the coming years they plan to increase the amount of wheat production to 50% of the amount consumed in the country. --0—