Since March 2017, the CCI has shown a positive trend. It yielded 9.1 increase from March 2017 (-31) to May 2017 (-21.9), expressing the optimistic perceptions of Georgians during these months. However, the CCI did not maintain this upward trend in June. Overall, in June the CCI went down by 3.2 points compared to May 2017 (from -21.9 to -25.1). Present Situation and Expectations Indices were also affected negatively in June 2017.

In May 2017, the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) sustains its upward trend, increasing by 3.6 points compared to April (moving from -25.6 to -21.9). Its first component, the Present Situation Index, rises by 3.4 points (from -32.8 to -29.4), and its second component, the Expectations Index, goes up by 4.2 points (from -18.5 to -14.3).

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

On November 14, Dr. Nadja El Benni, employed at the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) until October 2016 and starting at Agroscope (Swiss Confederation’s center of excellence for agricultural research) in January 2017 as head of the Strategic Research Division “Competitiveness and System Evaluation”, visited ISET.

Seasons change, and so do Georgian food prices. In the second week of June, Georgia’s major food retail networks (Carrefour, Goodwill, Fresco, and SPAR) lowered their prices by an average of 3.9% y/y and 1.8% m/m. Compared to the end of May, prices moved the most for the following food items: eggplant (-21%), pasta (-10.3%), and coffee (-5.7%); wheat flour (+11%), buckwheat (+10.5%), and garlic (+6.8%).