Historically, hazelnuts have been one of Georgia’s main crops in terms of economic value; as the country is located on the Black Sea coastal area, which has suitable soil and climate conditions for growing hazelnuts. Even as early as the fourth century B.C., populations grew wild forms of hazelnut, which later adapted to local conditions and formed regional varieties (GEONUTS, 2023).

The Georgian winemaking tradition is 8000 years old, making Georgia the world’s first known location of grape winemaking. There are many traditions associated with Georgian winemaking. One of them is ‘Rtveli’ – the grape harvest that usually starts in September and continues throughout the autumn season, accompanied by feasts and celebrations.

ISET Policy Institute has launched a new project – “Develop the advocacy capacity of CSOs and PSAs”. This project is being implemented with the support of the USAID Economic Governance Program.

Food Loss and Waste (FLW) is one of the critical issues related to waste management in Georgia. A large amount of food still suitable for human consumption is wasted by Food Business Operators (FBOs) and large food retailers in particular due to the packaging or quality issues, expiration date, excess supply and consumption habits, which results in significant economic losses for these FBOs.

The CCI is catching up. After decreasing consumer confidence during the summer, the CCI rose by 4.7 index points in September (from -34.2 in August to -29.5 in September). Both the Present Situation Index and the Expectations Index moved upwards in tandem. The Present Situation Index increased by 3 index points, and the Expectations Index by 6.3.