The Russian ban on Turkish goods turns out to be a boon for Georgian consumers. As Turkey is shifting its surpluses to the Georgian market, the prices of fruits and veggies are plummeting.

For over three and a half years, the ISET Policy Institute has been tracking the trends in the Georgian consumer sentiments. Every month a team of callers dial randomly generated telephone numbers to interview around 330 people from all over Georgia. The interviewer first asks the basic questions about the respondent’s age, level of education, place of residence, and then follows up with questions about the current financial situation of the household and the person’s expectations about the future economic situation in the country.

Georgia is one of the northernmost tea producing countries in the world. The humid and subtropical Black Sea climate creates ideal conditions for growing tea in five regions of Western Georgia: Adjara, Guria, Samegrelo, Imereti and Abkhazia.

ISET is proud to share the success story of its second-year student, Akaki Mosakhlishvili who recently translated the famous Sci-Fi novel “The Martian”. The publishing house “Books in Batumi” decided to publish a series of books, which includes classical, reputable, and brand new Fantasy and Science Fiction books. These series include such well-known writers as Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Arthur Clarke, Strugatsky brothers, Clive Staples Lewis, Ursula Le Guin, and others.

Once again, Georgians across the country are preparing for the holiday season, making travel plans, crushing walnuts for gozinaki, and buying gifts for their friends and families. Gifts are an important part of celebrating the New Year and Christmas, signifying the importance of friendship and allowing us to treat our loved ones to something to start a brand new year in style.