The FINANCIAL — The Khachapuri Index continued its upward trend in November 2017, with the average cost of cooking one standard Imeretian Khachapuri reaching 3.70 GEL. This is 1.8% higher month-on-month (compared to October 2017), and 7.1% higher year-on-year (compared to November 2016). In general, the increasing trend at this time of the year is driven by the seasonal decline in the supply of fresh milk, and excess demand before the start of the fasting period. This leads to a corresponding increase in cheese and other milk product prices.
If we look at the more comprehensive basket of goods and services used for the official Consumer Price Index (CPI), Geostat’s inflation estimates are quite close to our estimates: prices are up in both monthly and annual terms, by 1.1% and 6.9%, respectively.
As shown on the graph, the main contributors to m/m Khachapuri Index inflation in November were all khachapuri ingredients. The price of cheese has gone up by 2.3%, and eggs by 3.4%. The price of flour has increased by 2%, butter by 2.5%, and milk by 0.7%, leading to an overall increase in the Khachapuri Index.
