The FINANCIAL — In March 2019, the national average cost of cooking one standard Imeretiankhachapuri fell to 3.51 GEL, which is 0.8% lowermonth-over-month (since February 2019), however it is also 1.1% lower year-over-year (in comparison to March 2018). The main contributors to the MoM deflation within the Khachapuri Index were cheese down by 1.9%, milk by 0.8%, and butter by 1.3%.
For those earning foreign currency, Khachapuri Index prices appear cheaper due to GEL depreciation (MoM and YoY), relative to the USD and EUR over the last month. In March 2019, the GEL/USD exchange rate reached 2.68, 0.24 points higher than the previous year (March 2018). Therefore, the Khachapuri Index lost value in terms of USD, losing 1.9% MoM and 10.0% YoY. The situation appears similar for the monthly price fluctuations expressed in Euro, where the cost of khachapuri, is down by 1.6% MoM and 1.9% YoY.
Consequently, for foreign currencies, this declining trend is further boosted by the seasonal reduction in the price of cheese (the main ingredient) at this time of year, thus making khachapuri cheaper still.
