Winter has always been a problem for the Georgian electricity system. Even though Georgia has plenty of hydropower, during this season several HPPs — seasonal and small — either stop or substantially reduce electricity generation. In this season, a significant share of hydropower generation comes from two large-scale state-owned pumped-storage HPPs: Enguri and Vardnili. However, exactly when the generation-consumption gap is the largest, most of the electricity produced is used to satisfy the consumption of the Abkhazia region, which on a yearly basis consumes as much electricity as Tbilisi, something we have mentioned in one of our previous articles.

A study of the Georgian tea sector’s competitiveness has been undertaken to reveal the potential for investment. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has been increasing its support for private sector development in Georgia which, alongside recent government reforms, is expected to improve the investment climate, giving further momentum to the EBRD's diversifying portfolio.

APRC is working on the project on Georgia’s Dairy Market System Analysis and Mapping. With funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Land O'Lakes International Development is leading an innovative, demand-driven Food for Progress 2018, Safety and Quality Investment in Livestock (SQIL) project to improve food safety and quality along Georgia’s dairy and beef value chains

Underdevelopment of the land market is a major obstacle behind the development of Georgian agriculture. A significant number of unregistered plots of land prevent land consolidation and increases in agricultural productivity. According to the Ministry of Justice, as of February 2019, in the framework of the land registration reform, since 2016, there are 543,139 citizens who have registered 130,943 ha of land; 1,431 legal entities which have registered 1,793 ha; and 34,131 state entities with 169,241 ha of registered land.

The average cost of cooking one standard portion of Imeretian Khachapuri stood at 3.54 GEL in February 2019. This is 2.2% lower MoM (compared to January 2019), and 3.5% lower YoY (in comparison to February of 2018). The index having a downward trend at this time of the year is not unusual, and chiefly relates to the decreasing price of cheese (due to a higher supply of fresh milk).