Open Society Georgia Foundation commissioned ISET-PI to prepare a policy paper regarding the progress made on the implementation of Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) in Georgia and to conduct a training for the members of the European Integration Committee and the Economic Affairs Committee of the Georgian Parliament regarding DCFTA in frames of the project “Raising support and enhancing understanding of the Europeanization process in Georgia

The average cost of cooking one standard portion of Imeretian Khachapuri stood at 3.61 GEL in January 2016. This is 4.3% lower m/m (compared to December 2015), and 6% higher y/y (compared to the same month of the previous year, January 2015). Thus, annual inflation, as measured by ISET’s Khachapuri index, is roughly in line with the official estimate of 6%, based on GeoStat’s Consumer Price Index (CPI).

We have recently updated the GDP series (the dependent variable in our model), using the revised GDP growth rates available from Geostat. Based on the November data, the forecast for GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2015 now stands at 3.4%. This is 0.1 percentage points lower than in the previous vintage of the forecast.

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.

We have recently updated the GDP series (the dependent variable in our model), using the revised GDP growth rates available from Geostat. Based on the new data, the forecast for GDP growth in the fourth quarter now stands at 3.5%.