SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES FROM AZERBAIJAN AND GEORGIA TO ENTER THE BROADER EUROPEAN MARKET
May 2021 — Small and medium agrobusinesses in Azerbaijan and Georgia struggle to reach the European Union (EU) market, despite demand for their products. To address this, the German-Azerbaijani Chamber of Commerce (AHK Azerbaijan) hosted a series of workshops and forums on how to conduct business in Germany and the EU.
SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES FROM AZERBAIJAN AND GEORGIA TO ENTER THE BROADER EUROPEAN MARKET
AHK Azerbaijan is a grantee of the USAID Economic Development, Governance and Enterprise Growth (EDGE) project and partners with German business associations, economy representative offices, and industry and commerce chambers in Georgia, Belarus, and Ukraine. Over the last year, these groups worked on fostering competitiveness of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from the four countries by: 1) promoting new business linkages of domestic suppliers with German and EU international buyers with a specific focus on establishing cross-regional cooperation, 2) accelerating digital transformation, and 3) promoting women entrepreneurship. Over 400 SME representatives gained valuable knowledge including: market research, SME development, women entrepreneurship training, preparations for attending trade fairs in Germany, and how to organize B2B events. These business representatives also participated at virtual fairs, while establishing contacts with potential German buyers and investors.
Below are stories of agrobusinesses in Georgia and Azerbaijan, whose employees gained crucial knowledge to successfully expand their operations into the EU.
One of the companies supported by the grant under AHK Azerbaijan is Agritouch, a Georgian SME established in 2018. Agritouch is a woman owned enterprise that works in three main areas: agricultural consulting, investments, and trade. Contracted by a wide range of agricultural investors, farmers, and agencies, the company’s current management portfolio includes more than 20 farms and agribusinesses throughout Georgia including 7,400 acres of berry and almond orchards in Kakheti (East Georgia) and 250 acres of blueberries in Guria (West Georgia). Additionally, Agritouch sources, imports, and resells various agricultural inputs, including seedlings, mulch, and agricultural textiles.
Recognizing that export opportunities give local producers a way to increase sales and generate higher revenues, Agritouch provides export market development and trade intermediary services to its clients. The company is also directly involved in the export of fresh fruits and vegetables in various markets such as Qatar, UAE, and Poland.
The cooperation with the EDGE project and the regional SME Development grant is highly valued by the Agritouch management. “This project was very important and beneficial for us. Information about accessing German market and its business culture was valuable and we are anticipating new partnership deals with some of the participants in the B2B event in the future,” notes Ekaterine Vepkhvadze, Director and owner of Agritouch.
In 2020, the company decided to build its own cold storage in the Guria region and started to work on HACCP and GLOBALGAP certification to expand exports to the EU and other developed markets. Unfortunately, exports were not very high due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the new cold storage facility enabled the company to increase exports of different fruits and vegetables and diversify its export markets. In 2021 thus far, Agritouch has been able to export around 100 tons of fruits and vegetables including citrus fruits, berries, kiwi, and persimmons.
Ms. Vepkhvadze continues, “As our company works to export fresh fruits and vegetables mainly blueberries, we have high hopes that with the help of B2B meetings we will establish market linkages with relevant clients in the EU market. We are actively working on diversifying our export markets and seeking out new potential partners in EU countries. Exporting to Germany represents one of our priorities. For that reason, we are in the process of Global-Gap certification that will allow us to attract more buyers from the EU including Germany.”
Another partner company is Agrarco, an agricultural company from Azerbaijan specializing in production and export of ecologically clean hazelnuts and fresh fruits. Their fruit and hazelnut orchards are spread across various regions in Azerbaijan. Agrarco is strongly focused on satisfying the growing needs of the customers and they actively monitor the latest technology developments and market trends to continuously improve the product quality and selection.
“Our overall experience with the EDGE Project has been positive. Both the preparations and the B2B forum was quite informative. Hearing about the experiences of colleagues from neighboring countries during the pandemic was particularly encouraging. Participating in the forum hosted by the Project was definitely helpful, as we made important business contacts with the participants during the program with good chances to extend further. EU is our traditional export market, and new sales opportunities may arise from the B2B meetings. We plan to keep up the present level of export volume and explore new export opportunities,” said Samad Abasguliyev, Head of Research and Development Department at Agrarco.
Agritouch and Agrarco are just two of the hundreds of companies that participated in various project activities through EDGE, including workshops about “How to do Business with Germany and the EU,” where participants received detailed market information and practical training on German and European business culture. In addition, over 100 SMEs in the field of agriculture/food participated in the Online B2B Event for Eastern Food Products, which provided a unique platform uniting businesspeople, including importers from Germany and exporters from the Eastern Partnership countries of Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, and Ukraine. The market linkages established at the B2B Forum will lead to new business deals and export opportunities for the SMEs from these four countries. Visit the SME Development site for more information.
