Georgian prime minister Irakli Garibashvili and members of the government's economic council met on Saturday to review current economic trends and new initiatives in the country.
The council highlighted the country’s double-digit economic growth of 10,3 percent in the first seven months of 2022, despite the situation in the Black Sea region and the world, against the background of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, the government administration said.
The increasing trend of income from tourism was emphasised by the council and it was pointed out that in August 2022, it had surpassed the pre-pandemic figures for the second time, with the country receiving $2.1 billion from tourism between January and August, marking a 94.6 percent recovery compared to the pre-pandemic figures in 2019.
At the meeting the progress of grape harvest was also discussed and it was noted that as of September 16, more than 70,000 tonnes of grapes have been processed in Georgia’s eastern winemaking region of Kakheti, and the harvesting has proceeded “without interruption”.
The council said 7,000 winegrowers had already distributed grapes to wine enterprises and their income had exceeded ₾70 million (about $25 mln), with around 140 companies having already processed various volumes of grapes.