In March 2019, the national average cost of cooking one standard Imeretian khachapuri fell to 3.51 GEL, which is 0.8% lower month-over-month (since February 2019), however it is also 1.1% lower year-over-year (in comparison to March 2018). The main contributors to the MoM deflation within the Khachapuri Index were cheese down by 1.9%, milk by 0.8%, and butter by 1.3%.

The average cost of cooking one standard Imeretian khachapuri in September 2018 was 3.56 GEL, which was 3.7% higher month-on-month (m/m, as compared to the previous month), and 2.1% lower year-on-year (y/y, as compared to the same month last year). However, khachapuri became cheaper for those earning in foreign currency as a result of the y/y depreciation of the lari relative to both the USD and EUR in September 2018.

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The average cost of cooking one standard Imeretian khachapuri in October 2017 was 3.64 GEL, which is 0.2% higher month-on-month (compared to the previous month), and 7.2% higher year-on-year (compared to the same month of the previous year).

Ulrich Koester, Professor of Agricultural Economics at Kiel University and IAMO Visiting Research Fellow paid a visit to ISET on May 30. During his presentation, Prof. Koester provided an overview of the specifics of the agricultural sector and its impact on agricultural trade; furthermore, he clarified that traditional trade theory is of minor relevance for explaining agricultural trade policies and trade flows.