OCTOBER 30, 2017 RETAIL FPI | INSIDE 2017 GEORGIA GRAPE HARVEST

At the end of October, food prices maintained an upward trend; ISET’s Retail FPI gained 2.6% m/m (compared to the last week of September). On an annual basis (compared to October 2016), we recorded a significant 11.3% increase for food prices. According to data from the last two weeks of October, the biggest increase in price was recorded for tomatoes (99%), for which the price almost doubled due to seasonality. The other two products with the highest increases in prices were cucumbers (14.7%) and frozen chicken (10%). Although there is overall increase in food prices, some food items became cheaper. The prices that moved down the most were cabbage (-12.1%), eggplant (-4.2%), and bananas (-2.9%).

A CLOSER LOOK AT WINE SECTOR

According to the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), Georgian Rtveli for this year has successfully finished. As of today, 130 000 tons of grapes have been processed; that is 14% higher compared to the previous year (114,264 tons).

The revenues of Georgian grape growers are also higher, and amounted to 150 million GEL. This indicator is 50% higher compared to the previous year (about 100.2 million GEL). It is noteworthy that this year the Government of Georgia (GoG) did not have to buy the excess grapes, as the private sector has managed to handle processing and storage of all harvested grapes.

	2016	2017	Percentage Change
Quantity of harvested grapes (ths tons)	114,264	130,000	14%↑
Revenue (million GEL)	100.2	150	50%↑

Source:http://www.moa.gov.ge/

It appears that private sector efficiency is improving. As a result of government support to develop the country’s wine sector, 24 new enterprises got involved in wine-production, while 48 enterprises expanded their activities. Taking into account several initiatives to gain international recognition, the future of Georgian viticulture seems to be promising.

Food Price Index Recent Publications

JUNE 2021 | AGRI REVIEW
On 15 June 2021, the National Statistics Office of Georgia published its annual publication for the agricultural sector - Agriculture of Georgia 2020. According to the publication, agriculture, forestry, and fishing comprised 8.4% of GDP in 2020, higher than the 7.2% share in 2019, but in line with the general trend over the last five years (agricultural GDP comprising on average 7-8% of GDP). Agricultural GDP in nominal terms increased by 13% on an annual basis.… Read More
MARCH 2021 | AGRI REVIEW
On 29 December 2020, the parliament of Georgia approved the state budget for 2021, which includes allocations of around 18.3 billion GEL. From which the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture (MEPA) will receive 451.6 million (2.5% of the total budget allocation). MEPA will direct 10 mln. GEL towards the Environmental Protection and Agriculture Development Program (2.2% of MEPA’s total budget), with around 389.6 mln. (86.3% of MEPA’s total budget) to be allocated to agricultural… Read More
DECEMBER 2020 | AGRI REVIEW
The COVID-19 pandemic raised concerns about the food security of many countries, in particular import-dependent developing countries like Georgia. Trade restrictions imposed by Georgia’s trade partners tightened the supply of some cereals and vegetables, signalling the risk of an increase in food prices. While there is no formal evidence of food insecurity due to the pandemic, given that Georgia is a net importer of wheat the state subsidized wheat imports, and, according to Georgia’s Wheat… Read More
OCTOBER 2020 | AGRI REVIEW
The National Statistics Office of Georgia (GeoStat) recently published its economic review for Quarter II 2020. The publication highlights that agricultural production increased by 4.7% in the second quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2019. Furthermore, agriculture contributed to 10.2% of the country’s total GDP during the same period. In the second quarter of 2020, Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in agriculture also increased and were almost six times higher than the… Read More
JUNE 2020 | AGRI REVIEW
On 15 June 2020, the National Statistics Office of Georgia published its annual publication for the agricultural sector - Agriculture of Georgia 2019. The publication shows that agriculture, forestry, and fishing comprised 7.2% of the nominal GDP in 2019, slightly lower than the 7.8% share in 2018, but in line with the general trend over the last five years (on average 7-8% of GDP). In nominal terms, the output of agriculture increased by 4% in 2019… Read More
DECEMBER 2019 | AGRI REVIEW
On December 10, the parliament of Georgia approved the state budget for 2020. The budget includes allocations of around 14.4 billion GEL. Out of which, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture (MEPA) will receive 353 mln. GEL (2.4% of the total budget allocation). MEPA will direct approximately 293 mln. GEL (2.0% of the total budget allocation) towards agricultural development and 60 mln. GEL (0.4%) will be spent on environmental protection. Compared to 2019, the… Read More
OCTOBER 2019 | AGRI REVIEW
On 30 August 2019, a public hearing to discuss Georgia’s Rural and Agricultural Development Strategy for 2021-2027 was conducted at the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture (MEPA). The new strategy document represents a roadmap for Georgia’s rural and agricultural development for the next decade. The strategy outlines three major goals to be achieved by 2027: 1. Increasing the competitiveness of agricultural and non-agricultural sectors; 2. Sustainable management of natural resources, preservation of ecosystems, and… Read More