Economic Press Monitor April 10 - 16, 2022	Days:  02 09 16 23 30

economic & politics

BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “9 STEPS TO GEORGIA’S RAPID ECONOMIC GROWTH”

April 15, 2022 - Mamuka Khazaradze, leader of the opposition party Lelo for Georgia, offers 9 steps, which should be made in the first instance for Georgia’s rapid economic growth. He writes about this in social media.




TABULA: “IMPUNITY REMAINED A PROBLEM – US STATE DEPARTMENT’S REPORT ON GEORGIA”

April 13, 2022 - In the summarizing part of the US State Department’s report on the state of human rights in Georgia, attention is paid to the problems of the judiciary independence, arbitrary or selective detention by law-enforcement agencies, investigations that, according to various reports, are widely recognized as politically motivated, Tabula reports.

The report highlights also problems of illegal breach of confidentiality, violence and threats against the media, limited respect to peaceful meetings and associations, crimes against sexual minorities.




NETGAZETI.GE: “WHAT IS THE EU QUESTIONNAIRE THAT WAS HANDED OVER TO GEORGIA TODAY”

April 12, 2022 - On April 11, Georgia was handed a questionnaire from the EU – a formal tool through which the European Commission assesses situation in the EU membership applicant countries.

As Georgian Foreign Ministry noted, a period of 1 month has been provided to Georgia for filling out the self-assessment questionnaire.

macroeconomics & budget

FORBES GEORGIA: “GEORGIA’S 10 RICHEST MUNICIPALITIES”

April 15, 2022 - Because of the low level of territorial decentralization in Georgia, in 2022, local self-governments account for only up to 3 billion lari in total expenditures of the country’s authorities of 21 billion lari, the article indicates. At that, share of 10 municipalities in total municipal expenditures makes up to 73%.




REZONANSI: “FOOD PRICE GROWTH IS EXPECTED NO LONGER, PRICES ARE ALREADY AT THEIR PEAK”

April 15, 2022 - Iva Chkonia, chairman of Georgian Distributors Association, declared that if there are no sharp changes on the international market, no price growth on imported products in Georgia is planned at this stage.

Regarding search for alternative markets because of the Russia-Ukraine war, Chkonia assured that “It has been already managed to substitute main products with alternatives means, moreover, mostly painlessly”.




REZONANSI: “THIS YEAR, THERE WILL BE DOUBLE-DIGIT INFLATION IN GEORGIA AGAIN!”

April 14, 2022 - In Georgia, inflation has been critically high for the 3^rd year, the newspaper points. This year, National Bank of Georgia (NBG) expects inflation in the country at the level of 9% (against of a target of 3%), which can turn very easily into a double-digit indicator, the article notes.




BANKEBI DA FINANSEBI: “ARCHVADZE: ACCORDING TO WB REPORT, POVERTY RATE IN GEORGIA DECREASED 1.5-2.0 TIMES AFTER 2012, EXTREME POVERTY ACTUALLY HALVED”

April 14, 2022 - According to “War in the Region”, the regional report on Europe and Central Asia, published by the World Bank (WB), poverty rate in Georgia decreased 1.5-2 times after 2012, extreme poverty actually halved, Georgian expert Ioseb Archvadze reported.

As Archvadze noted, by 2021, a historical minimum was recorded in the country: the number of people living in extreme poverty (average consumer spending – $1.9 per day) made up only 127,000 people (3.6% of the population).




FORBES GEORGIA: “GEORGIA RANKS 60^TH IN THE WORLD IN TERMS OF EXPORT DEPENDENCE”

April 13, 2022 - World Bank (WB) reported that in 2020, Georgia ranked 60^th among 161 countries in terms of dependence on export of goods and services.

In the reporting year, the volume of Georgia’s export of goods and services totaled to $5.9 billion, making up 37.3% of the country’s GDP.




REZONANSI: “THE WAR HAS A POSITIVE EFFECT ON REGIONAL CURRENCIES? – IN RECENT PERIOD, ALONG WITH LARI, ALL NEIGHBORING CURRENCIES HAVE BEEN STRENGTHENING”

April 12, 2022 - The article points that in the region, trend of national currencies’ strengthening continues: the Ukrainian hryvna has practically not depreciated during the war; the Russian ruble retains the strengthening trend; the Azerbaijani manat has not changed its position at all.

Georgian lari is more or less stable too, the exchange rate makes up 3.07 GEL/USD now, which roughly corresponds to the indicator before outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, the article says.

companies

FORBES GEORGIA: “THE WORLD’S LARGEST LOGISTICS STARTUP INVESTED IN GEORGIAN “CARGON””

April 13, 2022 - Georgian logistics and technology startup Cargon has attracted investments from the American logistics startup Flexport. Cargon is a web platform, relying on smart algorithms.




TABULA: ““MONOLITH GREEN CITY” IS BEING BUILT THROUGH COOPERATION OF “SAKARTVELOS BANKI” AND “MONOLITH” “GROUP””

April 12, 2022 - In Ortachala district of Tbilisi, Monolith Green City is being built with investment of $17 million through cooperation between Sakartvelos Banki (Bank of Georgia) and Monolith Group. The project area exceeds 12 ha, where 23 residential buildings, recreational spaces and other infrastructure will be located.

agriculture & food

NETGAZETI.GE: “SOWING CAMPAIGN BEGINS, FUEL PRICES ARE DOUBLED – WHAT AWAITS FARMERS”

April 14, 2022 - Sowing the crops begins in Georgia, and at all stages of activity, equipment is used, which, as a rule, runs on diesel fuel, the article indicates.

“A lot of things have raised in price in the country, including fuel, pesticides and all other farming means”, says Rusudan Gigashvili, head of the non-governmental organization Farmer of the Future.