08
April
2019
ISET-PI’s forecasted real GDP growth for the first two quarters of 2019 remain at 4.3% and 4.6%, respectively. Geostat has released its rapid estimate of real GDP growth for February 2019. Their estimated growth stands at 4.6%, while the average real GDP growth for January-February 2019 reached 4.1%.
01
April
2019
In March 2019, the average cost of cooking one standard Imeretian khachapuri declined slightly to 3.51 GEL, which is 0.8% lower MoM (compared to February 2019), and 1.1% lower YoY (compared to March 2018).
18
March
2019
The average cost of cooking one standard Imeretian Khachapuri in the second month of 2019 decreased to 3.54 GEL, 2.2% lower month-on-month (in comparison to the previous month), and 3.5% lower year-on-year (compared to the same month of last year). The Khachapuri Index is driven primarily by the price of cheese, the main ingredient in khachapuri. In February 2019, the cheese price declined in almost all large Georgian cities, relative to the same month of last year. The highest yearly price decrease (13.5%) of Imeretian cheese was recorded in the capital, Tbilisi. For Khachapuri lovers, Telavi is currently the most expensive city, with Tbilisi taking second place.
11
March
2019
Based on January’s data, we expect annual growth in 2019 to be 4.4% in the worst-case or “no growth” scenario, and 5.5% in the best-case or “average long-term growth” scenario. Our “middle-of-the-road” scenario (based on average growth over the last four quarters) predicts 4.7% real GDP growth.
04
March
2019
Winter has always been a problem for the Georgian electricity system. Even though Georgia has plenty of hydropower, during this season several HPPs — seasonal and small — either stop or substantially reduce electricity generation. In this season, a significant share of hydropower generation comes from two large-scale state-owned pumped-storage HPPs: Enguri and Vardnili. However, exactly when the generation-consumption gap is the largest, most of the electricity produced is used to satisfy the consumption of the Abkhazia region, which on a yearly basis consumes as much electricity as Tbilisi, something we have mentioned in one of our previous articles.
