The very sharp seasonal fluctuations in the prices of many agricultural products in Georgia are indicative of the state of the Georgian agricultural sector. Agriculture provides a safety net for a very large number of jobless people who might otherwise be starving and thus serves a very important social function.

Recently the Georgian government started a campaign for attracting foreign capital to the country. A whole page ad (pictured above) runs on one of the first pages in the print edition of The Economist for already a month.

The Great Trek was a defining moment in the history of the Boer, white South African farmers of Dutch descent. In the early 19th century the Boer migrated from the Cape Colony to the interior of what is today South Africa.

One thing few visitors to Tbilisi fail to notice is the rich and layered architectural heritage of the city. There are medieval churches in Old Tbilisi. There are art nouveau buildings in Sololaki.

ISET-PI played a relatively minor role in this project, supporting a consortium consisting of Ecorys (Netherlands) and CASE (Poland). The study was commissioned by the European Commission (DG Trade). The Georgian component of the study identified considerable compliance costs related to the EU-required phyto and veterinary controls, reflected in higher prices for meat and meat products, and an increase in EU meat exports to Georgia. These findings were reported to the Georgian Prime Minister’s office and to the consortium members.