The cost of cooking one standard portion of khachapuri fell to 3.46 GEL in September 2015, thus departing from the seasonal upward sloping trend. Compared to the previous month (August 2015) the Index declined by 0.9%, however in yearly terms (compared to September 2014, the Index gained 3.2%.
The main reason for the month-on-month decline in Khachapuri Index is very simple: it rose more than expected in August due to exceptionally strong tourism-related demand for Georgia’s traditional delicacies. As the number of tourists sharply declined in September, so did the Khachapuri Index.
The main driver of the seasonal fluctuations in the Khachapuri Index is Imeretian cheese. The price of this cheese variety (and fresh milk) goes up from June to January of every year and goes down from February till May. This year was no exception to this rule (see chart).