Dr. Tamar Khuntsaria of the European Union Studies Association and an Associate Professor of the University of Georgia visited ISET to talk to the institute’s students about relations between the European Union and Georgia, with a focus on trade and economic issues. Dr. Khuntsaria began by explaining the process through which the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area was signed between Georgia and the EU as part of the Association Agreement between the two. She described how the DCFTA removes customs tariffs and quotas, and liberalizes trade in goods and services over a broad spectrum of economic-related issues, including food safety, intellectual property rights and financial matters.
Gigla Mikautadze, the manager of ISET’s “ReforMeter” project, was invited by the International Monetary Fund to the annual meetings of the World Bank Group and the IMF which took a place in Washington D.C. October 9-14. The participants of the event discussed the current trends in the global economy, government policies, and strategies for poverty reduction.
The cooperative movement in Georgia started back in 2013 with EU support, through the launching of the ENPARD project, a major component of which is the development of agricultural cooperatives across Georgia.
In September 2017, the average cost of cooking one standard Imeretian khachapuri varied across Georgian cities, from 3.33 GEL (the minimum observed in Tbilisi), to 3.85 GEL (the maximum observed in Telavi). The average price was 3.63 GEL, which is 5.5% higher compared to the previous month (August 2017), and 6% higher compared to September of last year.
In the first half of October, food prices in Tbilisi’s major supermarkets increased by 10.8% compared to October 2017. On a monthly basis (that is, compared to September 2017), ISET’s Retail Food Price Index increased slightly by 1.7%. On a biweekly basis, most of the prices increased, leading to a higher Retail FPI.