The CCI has fallen again. After a slight rebound of the Consumer Confidence Index in November, the index further improved in December from -31 to -29.8. However, in January the index decreased by 2.5 index points and fell to -32.3. Both the Present Situation Index and the Expectations Index followed the same trend in December as well as in January, with the Present Situation Index decreasing by 1.9 index points and the Expectations Index by 3.2 points (Chart 1).

On 17 February, ReforMeter hosted its first public-private dialogue on E-commerce reform. The event highlighted the core issues, challenges, and recommendations behind the creation of a Georgian E-commerce policy.

Gender Impact Assessments (GIAs) for selected government programs and policies, specifically focuses on a draft legislative amendment to Georgia's Public Registry law and a package of legislative amendments regarding the status of single parents. In collaboration with ISET Policy Institute, UN Women is providing technical assistance to the National Agency of Public Registry and the Gender Equality Council of the Parliament of Georgia.

Geostat has published its rapid estimate of real GDP growth for the fourth quarter of 2021, and their estimated growth stands at 9.5%, which is 1.4 percentage points below the ISET-PI’s most recent forecast. The annual real GDP growth in 2021 amounted to 10.6%, which is 0.2 percentage points lower than our recent prediction.

The new year started with a historic high for the Khachapuri Index. The Index continued its upward trend, reaching an average cost of 5.77 GEL in January 2022. This is 1.8% higher than December 2021 (MoM) and 23.7% higher compared to January 2021 (YoY). The highest price increase was observed for eggs (47%) and flour (31%).