You might remember from your school days the myth of Jason and the Argonauts, who went in search of the Golden Fleece. But did you know that the ancient Greeks placed that legendary quest in what is now modern-day Georgia—a country on the Black Sea, separated from Russia by the Caucasus Mountains and sharing borders to the south and east with Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan?
In the coming weeks, we'll be publishing a 14-part series exploring Georgia's cultivation of crops like blueberries, grapes, walnuts, and hazelnuts – and how exporters are working to bring these products not only to the domestic market and neighboring Russia, but also to more distant markets abroad.
© Marko Bukorovic | DreamstimeGeorgia is separated from Russia by the Caucasus Mountains and shares borders to the south and east with Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan
In this first installment, we take a look at some historical and geographical background. Part two will focus on fruit export statistics, followed by in-depth stories from individual growers and exporters.
EU accession talks on ice
This series aims to shine a spotlight on a country that, while lying on the geographic border between Europe and Asia, strongly identifies as European both politically and culturally. Until last year, Georgia was also officially a candidate for EU membership. As part of a broader push for market diversification, the country's fruit sector has increasingly looked westward.
In June 2014, Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova (a country we've previously covered in a similar series last year and three years ago) signed association and free trade agreements with the EU. Georgia formally applied for EU membership in March 2022. While it was granted conditional candidate status in December 2023, accession talks were effectively frozen in May the following year after the government passed legislation seen as restricting civil society and press freedom. The move sparked widespread protests – especially in the capital, Tbilisi – led largely by young people determined not to see their European aspirations cut short. In November 2024, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced that the government would suspend EU accession talks until at least the end of 2028.
A land of mountains
Georgia is more than twice the size of Belgium, yet it has only a third of its population: 3.7 million people, with 1.5 million living in Tbilisi alone. Back in 1991, when the country regained its independence after 70 years under Soviet rule, Georgia had 5.5 million inhabitants. But the number has dropped significantly, partly due to the emigration of around 1.2 million labor migrants in the 1990s, and partly due to the loss of the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in 2008. These regions are not internationally recognized as independent states – only Russia recognizes them, and has stationed troops there.
Georgia's GDP per capita is nearly seven times lower than Belgium's, yet the economy is growing at a robust pace – around 8% annually, according to World Bank figures. The unemployment rate stands at 11%, while inflation is minimal at just 1.1%. Electricity is available to all households, and 82% of the population has internet access. Agriculture accounts for 6.2% of GDP but employs 16% of the workforce (2024 figures from Geostat, Georgia's National Statistics Office). In 2023, the average monthly wage in agriculture was 1,206 lari (€386).
© Vvvita | Dreamstime
Panoramic view of Tbilisi at sunset
Roughly 87% of Georgia is mountainous or hilly terrain. In the north rise the majestic peaks of the Greater Caucasus, soaring above 5,000 meters. The Lesser Caucasus stretches across the south, and the Likhi Range runs north to south through the center of the country. Tbilisi, the capital, is located in the eastern part of Georgia.
It all started with the Greeks
The association between the Argonauts and Georgia traces back to the presence of ancient Greek colonies along the eastern shores of the Black Sea. Around 700 BC, the Greeks established several trading posts in the region. Over the centuries, the area was overrun by Romans, Persians, Arabs, Byzantines, Mongols, and Ottomans. Yet none of these empires ever fully conquered the land in spirit. Christianity, which took root as early as the 4th century, remains the dominant faith to this day, led by the Georgian Orthodox Church.
Not long after Georgia's Christianization, the country developed its own unique alphabet. To give you an idea of what it looks like: საქართველო is how Georgians write Sakartvelo, the native name for Georgia. The language itself is equally distinct: linguistically, it has little to no relation to most other languages. Georgia has remained relatively untouched by outside cultural influences, a trait it shares with many mountain communities.
Russian rule
Modern Georgian history begins with its incorporation into Tsarist Russia in 1811. After a brief six-year period of independence following the 1917 Russian Revolution, the country became part of the Soviet Union, whose most notorious leader, Stalin, happened to be a native Georgian. His origins, however, didn't spare his homeland; thousands of Georgian dissidents were deported to labor camps during his regime.
As early as the 1960s and 70s, Georgia's agricultural potential was well recognized. Alongside Soviet tourism to the Black Sea coast and spa resorts, fruit and vegetable exports to Russia became a key source of revenue, used to finance imports of oil, gas, cars, and other (often luxury) goods. But in the twilight of the Soviet era, wine production took a hit: During Mikhail Gorbachev's anti-alcohol campaign, thousands of hectares of vineyards south of the Caucasus were uprooted.
Turbulent nineties
Georgia regained independence after the Soviet collapse, but like many former Soviet republics, the 1990s were marked by turmoil – poverty, corruption, organized crime, and even armed conflict. Still, Eduard Shevardnadze, formerly Gorbachev's foreign minister, began steering the country toward modernity. His pro-Western approach included outreach to the EU and NATO. However, the separatist ambitions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia – backed by Russia – cast a long shadow over Georgia's domestic and political stability.
Things shifted in 2003, when the peaceful Rose Revolution forced Shevardnadze out and ushered in a new era under Mikheil Saakashvili. A Western-educated lawyer (with studies in Ukraine, France, and the U.S.) married to Dutch-born Sandra Roelofs, Saakashvili made anti-corruption and the informal economy top priorities. His reforms breathed new life into the economy, but Georgia's relationship with Russia soured, especially after the brief 2008 war over South Ossetia, which ended with the region, along with Abkhazia, unilaterally declaring independence.
Georgian Dream
In 2013, a newly formed opposition party, Georgian Dream, led by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, who made his fortune in 1990s Russia, took over from Saakashvili. Georgian Dream went on to win election after election (though results were frequently challenged by the opposition) and remains in power today. In its early years, the party embraced a pro-European stance, including the signing of an association agreement with the EU in 2014. But in recent years, Georgia's ties with the West have gradually cooled.