The average cost of cooking one standard Imeretian khachapuri in September 2018 was 3.56 GEL, which was 3.7% higher month-on-month (m/m, as compared to the previous month), and 2.1% lower year-on-year (y/y, as compared to the same month last year). However, khachapuri became cheaper for those earning in foreign currency as a result of the y/y depreciation of the lari relative to both the USD and EUR in September 2018. In September 2018, the GEL/USD exchange rate reached 2.61, which was 0.16 points higher than September 2017, and 0.08 points higher than August 2018.
The Khachapuri Index lost value in terms of USD, falling by 1.7% in September 2018 compared to the same period last year. The situation is similar when looking at the euro price of khachapuri, which was down by 4.2% y/y.
It is worth mentioning that, starting from September, there has been a shortage in the supply of fresh milk, which pushes up the price of cheese. Combined with the depreciation of the lari, we might expect even higher khachapuri prices in coming months. A further reason for the latter is that milk powder is a common substitute for fresh milk in the winter months. As the price of imported milk powder will go up during that time, we will see a higher khachapuri price level.
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