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.
04
March
2019
The average cost of cooking one standard portion of Imeretian Khachapuri stood at 3.54 GEL in February 2019. This is 2.2% lower MoM (compared to January 2019), and 3.5% lower YoY (in comparison to February of 2018). The index having a downward trend at this time of the year is not unusual, and chiefly relates to the decreasing price of cheese (due to a higher supply of fresh milk).
26
February
2019
On February 26, 2019, the APRC participated in a meeting on sustainable land management and green agriculture in Georgia. The event was organized by REC Caucasus and gathered more than 60 participants from the public and private sectors. The representatives of different organizations (e.g., GIZ, IFAD, FAO), as well as a number of farmers, shared information on their projects and activities related to climate-smart agriculture and sustainable land management in Georgia.
