PM Dismisses Grape Price Protest as UNM’s ‘Provocation’

PM Irakli Garibashvili slammed a protest rally by grape growers in Gurjaani, eastern region of Kakheti, as “provocation” by “destructive” opposition United National Movement (UNM) party.

A group of grape growers continued protest rally against lower grape prices in the town of Gurjaani on September 14, demanding from the government to increase grape price subsidy.

“I want to tell politicians… that their provocative actions are directed against our state,” PM Garibashvili said at a government session on Monday.
 
“I know one of the MPs, [Giorgi] Gviniashvili, who for years was a governor of Kakheti region… is active there to prove his loyalty towards Odessa governor [Georgia’s ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili],” he said referring to UNM lawmaker, who is elected from Gurjaani majoritarian single-mandate constituency in the Kakheti region and who was with the protesters in Gurjaani on September 14.

“I want to ask the law enforcement agencies and [Interior Minister Giorgi] Mgebrishvili to maximally control situation there in order for the people not to face any obstacles in delivery [of grapes to factories],” Garibashvili said.
 
“We should get rid of this provocateur. If any provocateur tries to stir tension, you will act in frames of law,” the PM told the Interior Minister.

“This is completely inadmissible that such discredited organization like UNM goes there and tries to spoil positive image of grape harvest with the help of 20 or 30 people through intrigues and provocative methods,” he said.

He said that farmers are “misled” and manipulated by the UNM. “There is a need to provide more information to [farmers] in order not to trigger perception as if there was lack of efforts from the state or as if we have cut subsidies,” the PM said.

The declining export of the Georgian wine has pushed grape prices down by roughly 40-55% compared to last year, when the average price for a kilo of grapes varied from GEL 1 to GEL 1.9, depending on quality and variety of grapes in Kakheti region, which is home of more than half of Georgia’s vineyards.

Similar to last year, the government keeps subsidizing grape prices, adding GEL 0.35 per kilo of white grape on top of what the wine maker companies and processing factories will pay; subsidies amount to GEL 0.15 per kilo of red grape in Kakheti.
 
“With such provocative actions and useless noise and fuss these people – I mean this so called opposition United National Movement – are pitting Kakheti and farmers there against other regions [of Georgia],” PM Garibashvili said, adding that there were problems with apple, citrus fruits harvest in other parts of the country.

“Yes we said that vine growing is a strategic direction and because of [state] assistance it was possible to add 4 hectares of new vineyards.”

“I want to tell our dear farmers not to be misled; do not allow anyone to use you for their political purposes,” he said. “Do not listen to those provocateurs; get rid of these provocateurs.”

Protesters in Gurjaani have also been demanding a meeting with Agriculture Minister Otar Danelia.

“I would advise you not to meet provocateurs and not to give an opportunity to destructive forces to use this meeting for further tensions,” Garibashvili told the Agriculture Minister.  “Meet the constructive part of the population – real, healthy farmers and [do not meet] UNM members disguised as farmers, who have not even seen a vineyard and who don’t care about peasants.”
 
UNM parliamentary minority leader, MP Davit Bakradze, said he was “bewildered” by the PM’s remarks, and added that Garibashvili’s comments on “getting rid of provocateur” was an instruction to the law enforcement agencies to “arrest” MP Giorgi Gviniashvili.

“Instead of taking measure to resolve farmers’ problems, the Prime Minister is instructing the police to arrest Gurjaani majoritarian MP just for performing his duties and standing beside the people,” UNM parliamentary minority leader, MP Davit Bakradze, said. “Unlike government members and [Georgian Dream ruling coalition] lawmakers… Gurjaani majoritarian MP will keep on performing his duties and standing behind farmers in Kakheti.”

“This is not a political issue, we do not want to politicize grape harvest, but at the same time we should all know that we will stand beside people wherever people are deceived,” he added.

Speaking at a government session on September 14, Agriculture Minister Otar Danelia said that on top of price subsidy, the state-owned companies will buy excess of grapes, which will not be bought by private wine producing companies and grape processing factories. This scheme, in combination of price subsidy, will cost about GEL 60 million to the state budget, PM Garibashvili said.

Georgian wine exports have declined by 45.7% in the first eight months of this year to 19.8 million 0.75-liter bottles, compared to 36.5 million in the same period of 2014.
 
The fall is caused by sharp drop in wine exports to Russia and Ukraine, which declined by 58% and 63% year-on-year, respectively, in January-August, 2015.

Georgian wine exports to its other major markets have increased in the first eight months of this year.

Despite the sharp decline, Russia still remains the largest export market for Georgian wines, where 10.1 million bottles were exported in January-August 2015, followed by Kazakhstan – 2.9 million bottles; Ukraine – 1.73 million bottles; China – 1.18 million bottles, and Poland – slightly over 1 million bottles.

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