Georgia imposes a duty on sugar imports

The Georgian government has decided to impose duties on sugar imports from November 20, 2023 to July 1, 2024.

The import duty will be 40 tetras for each kilogram when importing more than 100 kilograms, which equals 400 lira ($13.95) per ton. The country’s main sugar producer is Agar Sugar Company, which also imports sugar.

The company’s 2022 financial report shows that its revenues increased by 71 million liras ($26.5 million) to 211 million liras ($79 million). The company’s net profit rose sharply from 1.4 million liras ($1.4 million) to 12.6 million liras ($4.7 million).

In the last year, Agar Sugar Factory processed 86,900 tons of sugarcane, up 27% year-on-year.

The efficiency of the factory directly depends on the difference between the price of sugarcane and finished sugar on the international market.

In addition to local production, Georgia imports tens of thousands of tons of sugar every year. In 2022, the country imported 152 thousand tons of sugar worth 89 million dollars, and in the first 9 months of 2023 – sugar worth 77 million dollars (113 thousand tons). Last year it also purchased 94 thousand tons of sugarcane worth $51 million.

In April-October 2023, Georgia imported 22.2 thousand tons of Russian sugar. In September, export of Russian sugar to Georgia amounted to 9.6 thousand tons.

Tags: sugar, Georgia, restrictions