Georgia not just for holidays

And those are vast. Particularly that in 2014, a free trade agreement was signed between the European Union and Georgia. One could safely state that this Caucasian country is the most open to Europe in that region.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

Contrary to the neighbouring Azerbaijan or Russia, Georgia does not export hydrocarbons. Its location, however, makes it a potentially important transit area for oil and gas extracted in the region of the Caspian Sea. The natural resources of this Caucasian state include hydro-energy resources, base metals (particularly manganese), coal and forests (which cover approx. 40% of the country).

The Georgian market is significantly smaller that the Polish one. The country has approx 3.7 million inhabitants occupying the area of less than 70 thousand square meters.  Therefore both in terms of size and population Georgia can be compared to Lithuania or Ireland. The positive attitude of Georgians to the Poles is also noteworthy and it is recognizable in business contacts.

TRADE EXCHANGE 

In the recent years, a significant increase in the trade exchange between Poland and Georgia has been observed. In 2013, an impressive growth in import from Georgia was observed, which exceeded 100% as compared to the preceding year (whereas in the same period export increased "just" by 17%).   

It is worth noting, however, that in absolute values this exchange is no longer so impressive. In 2014, Polish export to Georgia reached USD 103 million and import from this country amounted to USD 21 million (data by the Ministry of the Economy). The Caucasian partner accounts for approx. 0.05% of Polish export and 0.01% of Polish import. 

Polish investments in Georgia are rather symbolic. In 2013 they amounted to USD 1.37 million. It is worth stressing, however, that almost 95% of that sum was Asseco's acquisition of Onyx Consulting, a company which operates in the IT sector.

A LIBRAL PARTNER

After the Rose Revolution in 2003, Georgia introduced truly liberal economic regulations. This was acknowledged abroad. This country ranked 8th in the Doing Business 2014 report. It was possible thanks to maximum simplification of the procedure for registering new enterprises. At the same time though, much was said about the informal obligation for business people to maintain close, almost corrupt relations with officials in order to continue doing business.  In the recent Doing Business ranking, Georgia noted a slight drop and at present it is placed just before Poland (24th place)

When trading with Georgians, Polish companies do not have to deal with customs duty - thanks to the agreement signed in the previous year it is 0 for all products. Among the sectors which may benefit the most from the cooperation with Georgia, the Polish Institute of International Affairs lists particularly:

• manufacturers of farming machines, production lines and food storage equipment,
• producers of chemicals and pharmaceuticals,
• manufacturers of vehicles, electrical equipment, household appliances, furniture and mining equipment,
• IT equipment and service suppliers.

TRANSPORT TO GEORGIA

"Although Georgia has 4 operational sea ports and 3 airports, and despite its rail connections, the most common method of delivering goods from Poland is road transport. Most transport companies choose the route through Southern Europe and Turkey.

As part of the EAST service, Raben Group offers regular groupage export connections with Georgia.  This allows for accurate setting the time of delivery (goods reach Tbilisi already after 9-13 days from dispatch) and during that time the Customer is able to track the shipment at each stage of the process. Our Customers can also use advisory service in the organization of transport (also import) and they have access to a team of professional customs agents. It is worth adding that it is possible to deliver cargo to Tbilisi already for EUR129!

Please take a look at our offer at the service page.