In October 2016, the average cost of cooking one standard portion of Imeretian Khachapuri was 3.39 GEL, which is 1% lower month-on-month (compared to September 2016), and 6.1% lower year-on-year (compared to the same month of the previous year, October 2015).

October seems to be a time to taste Imeretian Khachapuri in Imereti; the Khachapuri Index reached its lowest value (3.27 GEL) in Kutaisi (it lost 7.2% month-on-month and 5.6% year-on-year). Kutaisi is the cheapest city for Khachapuri lovers in this month of the year, which was observed in 2015 as well. The second cheapest city is Telavi (3.41). Tbilisi (3.42) and Batumi (3.47) are the most expensive locations. The Index is primarily driven by the price of Imeretian cheese (the main ingredient of the Khachapuri Index).

Table 1: Price of cheese

According to Geostat figures (see table 2), Imereti is the region where the largest amount of milk is produced, and we often observe that changes in cheese prices are first reflected in Kutaisi. This month, the price difference between the most expensive (Batumi) and the cheapest (Kutaisi) cities reached 0.90 GEL.

Table 2. Production of milk by regions (mln. liters)