ISET’s Khachapuri Index continued an increasing trend in October 2018, which is very much in line with the annual seasonal trend. The average cost of cooking one standard Imeretian khachapuri currently stands at 3.59 GEL, which is 1.1% higher month-on-month (compared to September 2018), and 1.2% lower year-on-year (compared to October 2017).

Back in 2015 Georgian sheep market got into the spotlight due to the increased demand for sheep from Arabic countries. Prior to 2015, Azerbaijan was the most important export destination for live sheep, while in 2015, in addition to Azerbaijan, Georgian sheep was exported to United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.

About two months ago, the Georgian government announced the introduction of restrictions on wheat imports and their transit by road transport. However, this idea was soon abandoned in the wake of a concerted backlash from a number of stakeholders (including small-scale wheat importers, truck drivers, and flour-milling plants that use road-imported wheat).

The average cost of cooking one standard Imeretian khachapuri in September 2018 was 3.56 GEL, which was 3.7% higher month-on-month (m/m, as compared to the previous month), and 2.1% lower year-on-year (y/y, as compared to the same month last year). However, khachapuri became cheaper for those earning in foreign currency as a result of the y/y depreciation of the lari relative to both the USD and EUR in September 2018.

In September 2018, the Khachapuri Index showed an upward seasonal trend, reaching 3.56 GEL. This is a 3.7% increase over the previous month (August 2018) but is 2.1% lower compared to September 2017 (y/y). Such an increase in prices at this time of year is not unique to the Khachapuri Index.