In May 2015, the average cost of cooking one standard portion of Imeretian khachapuri reached 2.88 GEL - a 2.7% decrease month-on-month (compared to April 2015). In annual terms (compared to May 2014), however, the index added 1%.
In April, the average cost of cooking one standard Imeretian khachapuri fell to 2.96 GEL, which is 3.2% lower month-on-month (m/m, that is compared to March 2015), and 11.4% lower year-on-year (y/y, that is compared to April 2014). The main contributors to y/y Khachapuri Index deflation were cheese (down 22.3%) and eggs (2.5%). Not incidentally, both Imeretian cheese and eggs are produced in Georgia.
ISET’s Khachapuri Index kept declining in April, very much in line with the multi-year seasonal trend (see chart). The average cost of cooking one standard Imeretian Khachapuri currently stands at 2.96 GEL, which is 3.2% lower month-on-month (m/m, that is compared to March 2015), and 11.4% lower year-on-year (y/y, that is compared to April 2014).
The average cost of cooking one standard Imeretian Khachapuri in March 2014 was 3.06 GEL, which is 7% lower month-on-month (m/m, that is compared to the previous month), and 3.1 year-on-year (y/y, that is compared to the same month of last year). For foreign currency earners, Khachapuri became even cheaper due to the depreciation of Georgian currency against USD and Euro.
If we take a more detailed look at the prices of Kh-Index ingredients (see graph), the main contributors to y/y Khachapuri index deflation in March were cheese (-12%) and eggs (-1%). All other ingredients increased in price: flour (11%), yeast (21%), butter (6%), and milk (12%). As can be easily seen, prices fell y/y for locally-produced goods (eggs and cheese, made of fresh milk); prices went up y/y for goods that are imported (yeast and butter) or use imported intermediate inputs in their production (flour and milk).