In September 2020, the average cost of cooking one standard portion of Imeretian khachapuri was 4.09 GEL, which is 2.8% higher month-on-month (compared to August 2020), and 11.7% higher year-on-year (compared to the same month of the previous year, September 2019).

The 2020 October parliamentary elections are quickly approaching. This could mark a turning point in Georgian politics as the country has embarked on the path towards a more proportional electoral system.

In August 2020, Georgian power plants generated 949 mln. kWh of electricity. This represents a 7% decrease in total generation, compared to the previous year (August 2019, the total generation was 1,020 mln. kWh). The decrease in generation on a yearly basis comes from the decrease of 2.5% in hydropower generation, more than a 9% decrease in wind power generation and a 35% decrease in thermal power generation.

The COVID-19 outbreak has negatively affected the Georgian economy through a reduction in FDI, exports of goods and services, and remittances. In addition, uncertainties caused by the pandemic and containment measures hit consumption and domestic investment. As a result of this reduction in aggregate demand, combined with increased production costs due to pandemic-related constraints, GDP is expected to contract by 5% in 2020 according to NBG’s latest monetary report.

Recently, Geostat has released the preliminary estimate of real GDP growth for the second quarter of 2020, which now stands at -12.6%. The real GDP growth rate contracted by 7.7% and 5.5% year-on-year in June and July 2020, respectively. Consequently, the estimated real GDP for the first seven months of 2020 amounted to -5.8%.