20
January
2015
During the last three months, the Agricultural Policy Research Center (APRC) of ISET-PI was working on a study about family farming in Georgia. Within this project, we conducted interviews with farmers and owners of agribusinesses. These interviews elicited many intriguing facets of Georgian agriculture, but one aspect I found particularly interesting was that Georgian farmers apparently have a rather negative view on agricultural jobs.
16
January
2015
The average cost of cooking one standard Imeretian Khachapuri reached 3.68 GEL in December 2014. The price jumped up by 9.5 % month-on-month (compared to November 2014) and by 2.4% year-on-year (compared to December 2013).
16
January
2015
According to Geostat’s rapid growth estimates, Georgia’s real GDP declined by 0.5% in November 2014 (Chart 1). Despite this, growth in the first eleven months of 2014 was a robust 5%, which is certainly a much better result than most countries in the region could boast. The ISET fourth-quarter GDP forecast predicts 3.9% growth in the last three months of 2014.
15
January
2015
The Business Confidence Index decreased slightly and registered 24.5 points in Q1 (previous quarter BCI was 24.9). Decrease in the retail sector business confidence is marginally the highest. This is driven by a sizeable drop in Consumer Confidence. Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) fell sharply since November 2014. The sales price expectations turned from negative to positive in the first quarter of 2015. Insufficient demand remains the most limiting factor for doing business in Georgia.
12
January
2015
In December 2014, Khachapuri Index returned to its upward seasonal trend and reached 3.66GEL. This is 9.4% higher compared to the previous month (November 2014) and 2.4% higher compared to December 2013 (y/y). The main contributors to y/y Khachapuri Index inflation were flour (16.4%), milk (7.2%), yeast (5.1%), butter (3.2%), and cheese (0.7%), while the price of eggs dropped (-6.4%).
