“Dry milk comes into the country at a low price and hampers the raw milk and dairy products production,” Nikoloz Beniaidze, head of the Grain Producers Association, states.
In his words, in order to regulate the current situation on the market, it may be necessary to introduce a temporary import duty on dry milk.
"Dry milk is imported into the country at a low price and hinders the production of raw milk and dairy products."
In addition, there are counterfeit products on the market - products that should be made only from raw milk are made from powder.
It may also be necessary to impose a temporary duty on powdered milk to compete with raw milk and to prevent counterfeiters from deceiving consumers and supplying them with unhealthy products, as unlabelled products are known to be dangerous.
The change comes into effect, increasing seven-year loans for dairy farming to 10 million, with some of the interest financed by the state. “Despite the 70 percent deficit of raw milk in the country, the industry is still growing and requires intervention to regulate counterfeiting,” Beniaidze notes.
As for the current period, Beniaidze says that production is declining due to the season.
It is worth mentioning that in 2024 milk production in Georgia declined. In 2023, the country produced 584.3 million liters of milk, while last year this figure decreased to 570.7 million liters.
Amid all this, imports are increasing. In particular, in January 2025, the annual milk and cream import in Georgia doubled. For example, if 913 tons (worth $ 1.14 million) were imported in January 2024, in the same period of the current year 1,835 tons (worth $ 1.85 million) of milk and cream were brought into the country.
Dry milk import increased by 75% in the same period. In particular, in January 2025, 1,367 tons of dry milk worth $3.21 million were imported against 782 tons worth $1.82 million in the same period of last year.
