Month: September 2026

Georgian authorities adjusted grape purchasing prices following two days of protests by grape growers in the country’s eastern wine-making region of Kakheti, where locals demanded higher prices for their harvest, including by blocking roads and paralyzing local traffic.

The protests, which ended following the government’s September 22 decision to revise the prices, come amid what officials have described as an “unprecedented” harvest in the history of the country’s independence, but also climate-related challenges reportedly affecting the sugar content of grapes.

The demonstrations began in Shilda, a village in Kvareli Municipality, before spreading to Akhalsopeli and Velistsikhe villages. Some growers refused to deliver their harvested grapes, with grape-laden vehicles remaining lined up near purchasing facilities, and resumed deliveries only after authorities adjusted the prices.

Much of the discontent focused on the more recent pricing scheme that differentiates between grapes by sugar content and grape condition.

Under the pricing scheme announced in August for this year’s harvest, in the event of a surplus harvest, the state-run Harvest Management Company would purchase grapes at a pre-defined differentiated scheme, first introduced during last year’s harvest and meant to promote the production of “competitive and high-value products.”

For most grape varieties, grapes with sugar content below 17% would be purchased by the state for GEL 0.3 (USD 0.12) per kilogram, while those with sugar content between 17% and 20% receive GEL 0.8 (USD 0.31). Undamaged grapes exceeding 20% sugar content were priced at GEL 1.3 (USD 0.5) per kilogram.

Different thresholds applied to Saperavi grapes, with the state paying GEL 1.5 (USD 0.58) per kilogram for undamaged grapes with a sugar content of at least 21%, GEL 0.9 (USD 0.35) for grapes with a sugar content of 17% to 21% and/or those that are partially damaged, and GEL 0.3 (USD 0.12) for grapes with a sugar content below 17% and/or those that are damaged.

The winegrowers said the prices offered for their harvest were insufficient to cover production expenses, including vineyard maintenance, agricultural chemicals, labor, and transportation.

“Kakheti needs attention. We are asking for an appropriate price,” one protester told the media.

‘Unprecedented Harvest’

The protests came amid what officials have described as an “unprecedented harvest” in Georgia but also challenges caused by “climate conditions” for grape sugar content.

“This year will be an unprecedented harvest in terms of quantity,” Davit Songhulashvili, Georgian Dream minister of agriculture, was quoted by the ministry on September 21. Songhulashvili predicted the harvest to exceed 320 tons, “which, perhaps, will be the first case of such a big harvest in the history of independent Georgia.”

The minister, however, warned that this year’s “climate conditions created certain challenges,” including some grapes struggling to develop proper sugar levels, which he said may delay the harvest.

The growers have also disputed measurements of the sugar content of their grapes at the purchasing facilities. Some protesters say measurements taken before delivery have differed from those recorded at the facilities, resulting in their grapes being downpriced. They have particularly objected to the GEL 0.3 state purchasing price applicable to the lowest category of grapes, saying they are unwilling to sell their harvest at that rate.

Protest Ends After Government Revises Prices

The growers ended their protest and resumed deliveries after Levan Mekhuzla, chair of the National Wine Agency, announced the changes on September 22, saying the decision was made following consultations with the government and the Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture.

Under the revised terms, Saperavi grapes with a sugar content of at least 20% will be purchased for GEL 1.5 per kilogram, while Rkatsiteli and other grape varieties with a sugar content of at least 19% will be purchased for GEL 1.3.

For grapes in the lower quality category, the state will pay GEL 1 per kilogram for Saperavi with sugar content between 16% and 20%, and GEL 0.9 for Rkatsiteli and other varieties with sugar content between 16% and 19%.

Grapes with sugar content below 16% will be purchased for GEL 0.5 per kilogram, while hybrid varieties will be purchased for GEL 0.3.

Mekhuzla said grapes below the 16% threshold are considered unsuitable for wine or spirit production, but the government decided to make an exception to allow growers to recover some of their expenses. He also said growers who had already sold their grapes under the previous state prices would have their payments recalculated under the new terms and would receive compensation for the difference.

Also Read:

• 29/04/2026 – Two Detained Briefly During Farmers’ Protest in Marneuli Municipality
• 24/02/2026 – Economy of No Tomorrow: What Keeps Food Prices Up in Georgia
• 24/12/2025 – Kobakhidze Calls on Law Enforcement Agencies, Parliament to Probe High Grocery Prices
• 14/09/2015 – PM Dismisses Grape Price Protest as UNM’s ‘Provocation’
• 11/09/2015 – Grape Growers in Gurjaani Protest over Lower Prices
  

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Georgian IT worker Giorgi Kvitsaridze, who was reportedly behind the leak of footage showing police abuse of detainees to opposition-leaning TV Pirveli, has been sentenced to 17 years in prison on serious drug charges, in what the family and lawyers allege to be retribution through drug planting and pressure.

Kvitsaridze, 32, reportedly gained access to police internal chats and obtained video files depicting abuse, at least some of which Eter Khatiskatsi, his mother, handed to TV Pirveli months after his arrest on drug charges in December 2025.

Kutaisi City Court Judge Ketevan Tkhelidze delivered the verdict in September and found Kvitsaridze guilty of “purchasing and possessing drugs in an especially large quantity and facilitating their sale.”

According to Otar Rukhadze, the lawyer of Kvitsaridze, the evidence presented in the case consisted primarily of testimony from the police officers who arrested and searched the IT worker. He said that Kvitsaridze “categorically denies” the charge of facilitating the sale of drugs.

“As for the purchase and storage, he says he did use drugs and had a small amount, but according to him, the rest, the large quantity of narcotics, was planted on him by police at the time of his arrest,” he was quoted as saying by RFE/RL’s Georgian bureau.

He further said that Kvitsaridze says that “all of this was orchestrated against him precisely because he obtained footage capturing instances of exceeding official powers by police.”

The case file also contains a forensic report stating that Kvitsaridze’s DNA trace was found on the packaging of the seized drugs. According to Rukhadze, however, Kvitsaridze disputes the finding and says his DNA should have been found only on the one package containing the drugs he possessed for “personal use.”

Meanwhile, TV Pirveli, citing Kvitsaridze’s mother, reported that “police officers” visited him in prison and offered him a plea agreement and early release if he handed over additional video material in his possession. According to the report, Kvitsaridze rejected the offer.

Kvitsaridze’s lawyer and family members say they will appeal the Kutaisi City Court ruling. TV Pirveli said that, if the verdict is upheld by the higher courts, Kvitsaridze’s mother is reportedly considering releasing the remaining files in her possession.

Police Abuse Footage

Kvitsaridze, 32, came to public attention in June after TV Pirveli aired footage showing police officers beating and humiliating detainees at the Kobuleti police department, in Georgia’s Adjara region.

According to media reports, Kvitsaridze had gained access to internal police correspondence or chats and obtained 33 video files. His mother, Eter Khatiskatsi, subsequently handed five of the files to TV Pirveli.

The footage shows at least three different scenes in a closed room, with faces of victims blurred, and three identifiable perpetrators, apparently police officers. The latter are seen insulting their victims and pressuring them with phrases like “tell me quickly,” as victims are heard saying in response, “I don’t know anything,” and “I don’t know who is who.” The recordings also appear to show officers kicking the detainees and striking them with their hands, while one officer is seen pulling the hair of one of the victims.

Shortly after TV Pirveli released a teaser featuring the recordings, the Interior Ministry confirmed that they depicted a 2022 incident and said three former police officers had already been arrested in February 2026.

According to the February 23, 2026, statement by the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia, accessed on June 13, the agency “has arrested three former employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on charges of exceeding official powers with violence.”

The statement said that in July 2022, three employees of the Interior Ministry’s Imereti, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti Police Department “were seconded to the Adjara region for the performance of their official duties,” noting: “while working on a criminal case, the above-mentioned individuals brought three citizens to the administrative building of the Kobuleti District Division, where they exceeded their official powers by subjecting them to verbal and physical abuse.”

The agency said that the probe was launched upon the referral from MIA’s General Inspection, and all three suspects were arrested and will be charged with “exceeding official powers with violence.” It is unknown whether the suspects remain in custody.

Also Read:

• 28/05/2026 – Six Arrested Over Gori Police Violence Incident, Prosecutors Say