After facing a generation deficit during the month of August, Georgia continued to experience a decrease in power generation. In September 2019, generation decreased by 3% compared to September 2018 and by 19% compared to August 2019.

An agro insurance program was started in September 2014. The program is subsidized by the state and eight insurance companies participate in the program. The insurance package covers losses caused by hail, flooding, and storms, as well as by autumn frost (covered only for citrus). Since the beginning of the program, 49.3 thousand farmers (unique beneficiaries) have purchased insurance.

In September 2016, the average price of cooking one Imeretian khachapuri stood at 3.43 GEL. Compared to the previous month (August 2016) the Khachapuri Index gained 8.6%. The upward trend in Index at this time of the year is mostly related to the seasonal increase in the price of cheese (due to dwindling supply of fresh milk). While going up in monthly terms, the Index actually dropped 0.8% compared to the same time of last year (y/y). As shown in the chart, the main contributors to Khachapuri Index annual deflation were eggs (-7%) and cheese (-3%). All other ingredients increased in price: milk (1%), flour (2%), yeast (9%), and butter (17%). Interestingly, prices fell y/y for locally produced goods (eggs and cheese); prices went up for goods that are imported (yeast and butter) or use imported intermediate inputs in their production (flour and milk).

ISET’s Irakli ‘Rati’ Kochlamazashvili, the deputy head of the Agricultural Policy Research Center, has been awarded the prestigious MASHAV Scholarship to attend the “Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics – Changes in the Era of Globalization” program conducted by the International School of Agricultural Sciences of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Robert H. Smith, Faculty of Agriculture, Food & Environment.

On June 29, at the Tbilisi office of USAID G4G, a round table discussion about Agricultural Land Registration Reform was held. The meeting was organized by the ISET Policy Institute under the “ReforMeter” project. During the meeting, the land registration process and achievements and challenges of the land market in the country were all discussed.