An ambitious project to grow olive trees and produce olive oil has taken an important step forward in Kazakhstan.
On April 4, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Agriculture, Aidarbek Saparov and President of Georgia’s Global Olive Corporation, George Svanidze signed a memorandum of cooperation on the project and agreed to develop a roadmap determining the timetable and concrete steps for its implementation.
According to the Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture, the project is estimated to cost $20 million. It is aimed at harvesting 150,000 tons of olives per year and producing approximately 30,000 tons of olive oil.
The project was launched in 2023, when QVM Technology, the Georgian company’s partner in Kazakhstan, as well as Kazakh companies Ordabasy Group and Ervira, began experimental planting of olive saplings in the Turkestan, Mangistau and Zhetysu regions. More than 6,000 olive saplings were planted, with the survival rate of 99.7%, with the first harvest expected in five years.
In the spring of 2024, the project was expanded with an additional planting of olive saplings from Spain and Turkey. By the end of 2025, it is planned that the area of olive plantations in Kazakhstan will reach 100 hectares.
Svanidze expressed confidence that the olive growing project will become a milestone in Kazakhstan’s agriculture. “We intend to increase the number of saplings to a million, we are ready to train young local agronomists and bring our experts to Kazakhstan. The project includes the construction of an olive oil production plant and a nursery for the production of saplings,” said the Georgian company’s president.
