Cost of food drops in Georgia; alcohol and tobacco costs rise

The cost of several basic goods and services in Georgia is dropping. Prices are continuing to drop for milk, cheese, eggs and vegetables however consumers are still paying more for fruit.

Latest data from Georgia’s National Statistics Office, Geostat, revealed the change in price of goods in June 2015 contributed to a monthly inflation rate of 0.02 percent.

Specifically, last month the cost of food and non-alcoholic beverages dropped by 1.9 percent, which contributed 0.59 percentage points to the overall monthly inflation.

Prices were also lower for vegetables (-17.9 percent), milk, cheese and eggs (-1.4 percent) and fish (-1.1 percent), while prices increased for fruit and grapes (5.6 percent). On this note, restaurant and hotel costs last month were 3.9 percent higher than in May 2015.

In June 2015 costs related to housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels were -0.7 percent lower than in May 2015, and clothing and footwear costs were down -3.3 percent in the same time frame.

Geostat noted transport costs rose 3.1 percent in June 2015; this category contributed 0.35 percentage points to the monthly inflation rate. In the same reporting period prices also rose for fuels and lubricants (6.9 percent).

The annual inflation rate equalled 4.5 percent in June 2015.

The annual inflation rate was mainly formed by price changes in the following groups:

Food and non-alcoholic beverages: Prices increased 5.7 percent over a year, contributing 1.66 percentage points to the overall inflation rate. Significant price gains were recorded for the following subgroups: fruit and grapes (35.0 percent), oils and fats (9.8 percent), coffee, tea and cocoa (7.9 percent) and vegetables (5.4 percent);

Health: Costs increased 7.4 percent, contributing 0.72 percentage points to the overall inflation. Within this group prices also rose for medical products, appliances and equipment (15.9 percent), out- patient services (5.3 percent) and hospital services (3.7 percent);

Alcoholic beverages, tobacco: The cost of products in this category increased 11.4 percent and contributed 0.6 percentage points to the overall inflation. Costs also increased for alcoholic beverages (13.8 percent) and tobacco (8.7 percent).

Geostat June 2015 data showed the country’s annual inflation rate percentage change year-on-year was 4.5 percent.