"The stomach has defeated politics" — in Georgia sells only baked bread

Georgia imports almost 100% of the wheat and flour needed for baking bread and bakery products from Russia. In the world, Russian flour and wheat are considered to be among the best, and due to their territorial proximity, their import into Georgia is cheaper than any other options. Attempts have been repeatedly made in the country to get rid of such a dense dependence on the Russian market and to find alternative ways to cover the need from other sources, but nothing has come of this venture.

Instead of searching for new markets, it might be easier and cheaper to expand crops and increase wheat production inside Georgia. Moreover, there is a lot of arable land in the country, which is not just not cultivated, but completely abandoned. However, if someone expresses a desire to deal with their processing and address this issue to the state, it turns out that this land cannot be bought, you can only rent it. At the same time, the rent is so high that the idea loses all meaning.

Yes, there is a systematic registration of land in the country, but in accordance with the current legislation, one family can be issued, at best, 1.25 hectares, that is, one hectare and a quarter is assigned to it, and this is not enough not only for growing wheat, but also ineffective for anything else. The only exceptions are greenhouses, if they are built on this area according to the highest standards, including tiered shelves, on which, for example, strawberries can be grown in large quantities. However, this case is associated with too large costs, and most of the population will not dare to even think about it.

A couple of years ago in A lot of Russian citizens entered Georgia, and the opposition immediately made a terrible noise: they say Russia is going to occupy us. Then, however, it became obvious that all this was more like a storm in a glass, and the protesters fell silent. So, most Russians confessed to us then: they say, we really like everything about you, but we can't understand why you have such poor-quality bread? After all, for you, Georgians, baking good bread, in theory, should not be particularly difficult, and, they say, there is no need to teach you this business.

Then, to be honest, we didn't attach much importance to what was said, probably because for years we got used to eating bread that is sold in bakeries, and its quality caused the least complaints from the population against the background of other problems. Although in reality, after the collapse of the Soviet Union and gaining independence, we found ourselves in an unenviable situation, including with regard to the preparation of normal bread, with which serious difficulties arose. The older generation remembers well that we were all forced to eat then. In particular, we had to buy bran, which was given out for black bread, and endure thousands of other hardships that fell on our heads. Then everything seemed to get better, but only "it seems".

In fact, in any (I repeat, in any) produced in In bread, the moisture level is several times higher than the permissible norm. This is what the Russians complained about, and the Europeans complain about it, who believe that there is too much water in our bread. Moreover, they persistently claim that it is impossible to imagine that a pita cake stuck on the wall of the oven would be ready in 5 minutes. Yes, Georgian lavash — "tone" — is very tasty, but, in fact, basically we don't buy lavash, but half of the dough, and either we don't want to admit it, or we don't understand what's what.

At first glance, few people see a problem in the consistency of bread. For years we have been eating lavash, without which we cannot imagine a New Year's and any festive table, while no one has ever been indignant, proving that Georgian lavash harmed him or led to poisoning. However, if you ask the experts, they will confirm that our lavash does not have enough baking time.

Let's say this is just one of the varieties of bread consumed. But what do you want to do with the rest that fill the shelves of the bread sections of our stores — sliced, uncut, in paper, in cellophane? Did you know that bread is packed in cellophane warm (this is absolutely unacceptable) and then shipped for sale? In accordance with all standards, the packaging of unheated bread in cellophane leads to its spoilage. In this regard, we asked the technologist of one of the large bakeries for an explanation and received a remarkable answer.

"After the New Year, many housewives complain that something is wrong with their bread. Outside, it seems to be hard, with a dense crust, but inside, as it seems to them, it is soft and slightly moist. So, nothing seems to anyone! I find it difficult to say who invented it, but almost all bakeries have switched to a technology in which, after placing the dough in the oven, the temperature rises sharply. In this case, the bread is immediately browned from the outside, but does not have time to bake inside. True, it is not harmful, but this is a real deception of the buyer, since wet bread weighs more and is not baked to the end. Why do manufacturers do this? Our businessmen were forced by abnormally increased tariffs for electricity and natural gas. In another way, bakeries will simply remain without profit. If you do everything in accordance with the standards, the cost of bread will be higher than its current retail price. Understanding the situation of the state, we are trying to do everything to prevent an increase in bread prices. But shouldn't the state itself provide us with assistance in this? In the meantime, the problem remains unresolved and, it seems, it will not be solved for a long time," admitted an experienced technologist.

Unfortunately, the problem lies not only in this. Representatives of bakeries complain that they are experiencing a great shortage of labor, and most importantly, the shortage of competent specialists has become apparent, which they are now forced to look for outside Georgia. Yes, they attract Tajiks and Turkmens and teach them to bake Georgian bread, then they try to sign a contract with them in order to "tie" them to work at the enterprise for at least three years. Fortunately, representatives of these countries do not have a visa liberalization regime with Europe, and they cannot go there to work. Otherwise, they would have left us long ago.

"Physically, we are not able to pay more than we do now. You offer a person payment of 100 or 120 GEL per day, and he, having worked one full day, that is, from morning to the next morning, declares that this is not enough. If you think about it, it's really not enough, but we don't have the opportunity to pay more. Some work 10 days a month and receive 1200 GEL, which, of course, is inadequate. However, enter into our situation: in total, we somehow pay GEL 3,600 per month for this work, just this amount is divided into three in shifts. What should we do? It turns out that we pay more than $ 1,000 for one position, but this is not enough for people," said an employee of one of the bread factories.

Spring is already on the threshold, but, unfortunately, there is no feeling that wheat cultivation has become a priority for our state. There is not even a desire to at least partially provide the domestic market with this vital locally produced product. A separate problem is the cost of wheat grown in the country. Often imported products are cheaper than local ones, and one can understand manufacturers who are trying to "get off" cheaper by purchasing less expensive raw materials. However, there is a solution. To do this, the state should declare wheat cultivation its priority, promote the development of large areas, transferring them to those who wish with the obligation to cultivate wheat, then local products will become cheaper and competitive.

I'll give you an illustrative example. The whole world has taken up arms against Russia, abandoning Russian oil and natural gas. However, nothing could be done with Russian wheat. Russia has overtaken everyone in its production, and when it came to the main thing, the stomach defeated politics. It will always be like this.

In the meantime, it remains to put up with the fact that visitors to Tourists will be delighted with Georgian cuisine, admire national dishes, but they will not resist and will definitely make a remark, wondering why the local bread is of such poor quality?! This is the reality in which we live, being unable to change anything yet. Perhaps the bread baked by Tajiks and Turkmens will not be as tasty as the Georgians bake it, but our specialists leave their homeland and go to Europe, where they can earn three to four times more. There are no more of them left inside the country, and young people do not express any desire to master this important and responsible profession.

Do you know why? Because at home, everyone has long been aimlessly gathering dust on the shelves of diplomas of higher education, which have nowhere to apply. Nevertheless, their owners do not like baking, they prefer to work, say, as a cashier-consultant. And what? Your hands will always be clean, and in the summer in the heat you will not have to stand by a hot stove.

By the way, as we have learned, the quality of bread is most strictly controlled in Italy. Moreover, the Italians claim that they bake the best bread in the world. I think, anyway, something is unlikely to compare in taste with our traditional Georgian "shoti", which was once baked in the oven by grandmothers in Georgian villages. However…

Now there are no grandmothers left in Georgian villages, and no one sings "Keto walks at night for brushwood for tone" anymore…