The FINANCIAL — The Agriculture Ministry of Georgia has not yet taken the decision to ban imports of pork or pigs. Countries included in the black list worldwide are still the biggest importers of meat in Georgia.
“We are waiting for formal recommendation from the international bureau of veterinary. It has not been completely confirmed yet whether the flu was definitely spread from pigs,” says George Chaduneli, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia. Meanwhile Georgia’s neighbouring countries Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia have already banned the import of pork.
According to the latest information the Georgian Government has not yet reported any cases of swine flu. Nor can any official statement related to the pandemic be found on the websites of the Georgian Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Agriculture.
Leading Georgian meat importing and producing companies believe there is no reason for basic panic about swine flu as panic will just damage the financial interests of businesses. There are slight signs of panic among local customers already though. However despite this traditional pork Shashlik is still demanded in Tbilisi’s restaurants.
“There was just one case of pig disease in Mexico reported. Now only humans are infecting each other, accordingly we don’t plan to interrupt the import of meat and its realization,” Alexander Kamushadze, General Director of Meatana, one of the largest meat producing companies in Georgia told The FINANCIAL.
Company Meatana is a member of Ana Group Holding, which invested EUR 2 million in Meatana.
“Technical equipment cost EUR 600,000 and we also invested much in our human resources. Currently there are about 100 employees in our company. In September we’ll add 40 more persons. We plan to start producing semi-finished products. Currently company Meatana produces about 67 sorts of products. We plan to occupy the leader’s position on the Georgian market. During September-December Meatana spent USD 127,000 on advertisements. We also spent about USD 5-7,000 per month. We are focused on advertising products on informational news programmes because most customers are focused on the news,” Kamushadze declares.
The Holding includes the company Kanti and Tkbili Kvekana, producer of sweets and different sorts of cakes. LTD Kanti is an importer of meat. The company cooperates with the foreign meat producing companies Mikoian, Ruskoe More, Parmalat, Fazenda and others.
The largest meat importer companies in Georgia are West-Invest and Agritechnics Holding, according to the websites of these companies and other local business sources.
According to information of the Ministry of Agriculture the largest amount of meat in Georgia is imported from China, Canada, Brazil, Argentine and Australia.
Kamushadze, Meatana, says they can’t start slaughtering pigs like they did in the case of the bird flu pandemic. “What would the result be? he asks. There have been no cases of diseased pigs except for in Mexico. “Why must we destroy the enthusiasm and livelihood of persons who decided in better times to run a pig farm. Flu infected a person who had a direct connection with it. After that all pork has been cured at 75 degrees. Every bacterium gets destroyed at such a temperature anyway,” Kamushadze says.
“According to information provided by the World Health Organization pork does not pose any risk of danger. Swine flu is not passed on from pork. When preparing meat products we process them thermally, so that kills all bacteria. We should not be afraid of meat infected with swine flu,” says Mako Jaoshvili, PR manager of Nikora, one of the largest food processing companies.
Annual turnover of Nikora in 2008 was GEL 82.1 billion. The company said it covers 50% of the market.
“Meat products which we buy on the local market are examined by sanitarian and veterinary departments in our own laboratory. After passing all of these regulatory processes meat products are then used for producing goods. As for imported goods we order them beforehand according to our need. About half of the imported meat includes pork. Company Nikora works according to international standards. The HACCP system is a guaranty of insurance and safety of our products,” Jaoshvili says.
Jaoshvili says that the company does not plan to order meat products in the near future as the company has reserves to last for 3 months.
Nikora imports meat from Italy and Brazil.
“About 50% of meat products we bought from local producers. Raw materials we buy from our own regional industry in Poti and in our farms in Gardabani. Company Nikora also cooperates with meat producers in different regions of Georgia,” Mako Jaoshvili, PR manager of the company Nikora, says.
Kanti, which occupies 3-5% of the Georgian market, also imports meat from Italy and Brazil. “Georgia has none of its own pork reserves. There is a large deficit of locally produced pork. We hear many lies on the TV when different companies state that they use local meat in their products. It’s absurd really,” Kamushadze notes.
The businessman says that the company could have become bankrupt if the panic surrounding bird flu had continued any longer.
“Kanti managed to survive such hard times during the bird flu pandemic. During this period lots of people dealing with the meat business suffered and lost money,” Kamushadze says. He says official statements worsened the situation. “On January 2, 2007, the Health Ministry of Georgia declared that 30% of Georgians could die from bird flu. Soon it became apparent though that it was just panic and hysteria causing such dramatic figures to occur in the press,” Kamushadze says.
“Bird flu spreads easier because birds fly. Ana Holding doesn’t plan to interrupt the import of meat and its realization. People are infecting each other. But if we regularly announce that this is swine flu that people are dying from, then no-one will buy any kind of meat,” Kamushadze believes.
About 60% of pork is used for sausages.
Meatana also produces beef sausages, but they’re not so demanded on the local market.
Meatana occupies 3-5% of the Georgian market.
“I can’t understand why we should kill pigs or even stop buying pork,” Kamushadze says.
Ana Holding has started opening brand name shops. Currently we have 8 shops and plan to add more in the nearest future. “We will invest about GEL 70,000 in new networks. Increasing the number of brand shops is connected with raising realization and advertising the brand.”
All countries should immediately activate their pandemic preparedness plans. Countries should remain on high alert for unusual outbreaks of influenza-like illness and severe pneumonia,” WHO Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan stated last Wednesday. He said “at this stage, effective and essential measures include heightened surveillance, early detection and treatment of cases, and infection control in all health facilities.
This change to a higher phase of alert is a signal to governments, to ministries of health and other ministries, to the pharmaceutical industry and the business community that certain actions should now be undertaken with increased urgency, and at an accelerated pace”
Written By Madona Gasanova
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