The Khachapuri Index is one of the most popular Indexes in Georgia. ISET uses the Khachapuri Index as a simple tool that tracks inflation. The creation of the Khachapuri Index was inspired by the Big Mac Index, made and used by the Economist. ISET’s Khachapuri index uses a basket for calculating inflation that includes only those ingredients that are needed to cook one Imeretian khachapuri – flour, cheese, yeast, milk, eggs, and butter.

On April 30, 2018, Dr. Yasya Babych (ISET/MPRC) presented at the Georgian Banking Forum 2018 organized by The Financial. The conference was dedicated to the future of banking and took place at the Biltmore Hotel in Tbilisi. Among the invited speakers were Irakli Kovzanadze (Chairman of Finance and Budget Committee of the Parliament of Georgia), Murtaz Kikoria (Vice-Governor, Member of the Board of the National Bank of Georgia), Andras Hemberger(Mastercard), Kakha Kiknavelize (CEO of Bank of Georgia) and other notables.

In April 2018, Georgian power plants generated 1,064 mln. KWh of electricity. This represents a 30% increase in total generation, compared to the previous year (in 2017, total generation in April was 817.2 mln. kWh). The increase in generation on a yearly basis mainly comes from an increase in hydro power generation.

The second half of 2017 lacked any drama, at least as far as Georgian consumer confidence (CCI) is concerned. During this period, the CCI moved within a very narrow band of [-16; -20] index points, with monthly changes not exceeding one or two points. This trend continued in January 2018 – the CCI lost 1.1 index points, declining from -17.8 in December to -18.9 index points in January 2018. CCI’s two sub-indices, capturing consumer expectations and present situation assessment, moved in the opposite directions.

2017 was a challenging year for Georgian agriculture. There is a decline in the level of sown areas, which decreased by 10.5% in 2017 compared to 2016. 214.9 thousand ha in 2017 is the lowest figure for the last four years. Average yields and production decreased for most crops, as well.