Zurab Gozalishvili, Director of the Rural Development Agency, accompanied by Simon Guledani, State Representative in the Shida Kartli region, visited the coordination headquarters established in the city of Gori to ensure the smooth sale of non-standard apples. There, he received an update on the progress of the program. He also visited the facility of the company "Biojuice" to observe the apple intake and processing operations firsthand.

"The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture is actively collaborating with representatives of the agricultural sector. Following a series of meetings and discussions regarding the sector's needs, a decision was made to launch a state program this year as well to support the sale of non-standard apples. Currently, the intake of non-standard apples is actively underway in the Shida Kartli region and other parts of the country. To ensure effective coordination of the process and the organized collection of the harvest, the coordination headquarters established in Gori will remain operational until December 18," stated Zurab Gozalishvili, Director of the Rural Development Agency. Under the state program, processing enterprises are purchasing non-standard apples in the Shida Kartli, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, Samtskhe-Javakheti, and Mtskheta-Mtianeti regions.

Since the launch of the program on October 13, participating processing enterprises have purchased over 800 tons of non-standard apples. Farmers have earned more than 200,000 GEL, a figure that includes over 83,000 GEL in state subsidies.

Within the framework of the state program, the subsidy amounts to 10 tetri per kilogram of non-standard apples. Any fruit processing enterprise is eligible to participate in the program, provided they purchase non-standard apples from individuals engaged in fruit farming at a price of no less than 25 tetri per kilogram.