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).

On April 3rd, 2015, the government of Georgia adopted the Technical Regulation on Milk and Dairy Products that was enacted on August 1st, 2015. The technical regulation aims “to determine unified principles for regulating production, processing, and distribution of milk and dairy products as well as the protection of customers’ rights”. It provides definitions of terms “milk and dairy products”.

In January 2019, the cost of cooking one standard Imeretian khachapuri decreased comparatively both annual and monthly, ranging between 3.56 GEL (Tbilisi) and 3.70 GEL (Kutaisi), with an average cost of 3.62 GEL. The new average price is 2.5% lower than in January 2018. As for the month-to-month development, the price of khachapuri is 3.5% lower compared to the previous month (December 2018).

Dairy production in Georgia is a hot topic right now. Over the last couple of years, new state regulations have been adopted in this sector. The most widely discussed recent change in regulations prohibits the use of milk powder in cheese production. This regulation was adopted in 2015 but was amended in June of 2017 in order to better serve consumer interests.

The average cost of cooking one standard Imeretian khachapuri in the first month of this year is 3.62 GEL, which is 3.2% lower – m onth-on-month (compared to the previous month), and 2.5% lower year-on-year (from January 2018).