In April 2024, Georgian power plants generated 1,085 mln. kWh of electricity. This represents a 13% decrease in the total generation compared to the previous year (in April 2023, the total generation was 1,249 mln. kWh). The fall in generation on a yearly basis comes from a decrease in generation of hydro, thermal and wind power plants by 12%, 25% and 10%, respectively.
Geostat has published its preliminary estimate of real GDP growth for March 2024, which stands at 8.2%. In addition, the estimated growth for the first quarter of 2024 reached 7.8%.
Due to a recent update in Geostat's GDP calculation methodology in December, revised growth rates show an upward trend compared to the previous month's figures. Consequently, our forecast for GDP growth has been adjusted upwards to reflect this change.
International wheat prices have emerged as a significant policy concern in recent years, notably during the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia's war in Ukraine, as Russia has been known for periodically halting its grain exports to impact global prices. Georgia heavily depends on wheat imports from Russia, with over 95% of its wheat historically sourced from there.
Similar to the year 2022, Georgia stayed on the path of economic recovery from COVID-19 in 2023 as well. According to GeoStat’s preliminary estimates, the real GDP continues to show a relatively high growth rate, measuring at 7.5% y/y in 2023 – which is remarkably higher than the NBG’s real GDP growth expectation of 6% from October 2023.