Finance minister says decrease in prices, inflation to continue in coming months

The tendency of dropping prices and inflation should continue in the coming months with the inflation rate coming closer to the target three percent for the second quarter of 2023, Georgian finance minister Lasha Khutsishvili said on Monday.

In comments on the latest trends, Khutsishvili noted the downward trajectory of inflation over the past two months and the three-month-long trend of decreasing food price index. He tied some of the effect to supply in international markets, adding it would be reflected in the level of prices in the country.

The August inflation data published by the national statistics office of Georgia showed that prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages marked a 0.9 percent increase, including:

• Milk, cheese and eggs (7.3%)
• Bread and cereals (2.7%)
• Coffee, tea and cocoa (1.6%)
• Meat (1.2%)

At the same time, prices decreased for vegetables (-6.6%) and fruit and grapes (-11.3%).

Overall, in August the consumer price index increased by 0.1 percent compared to the previous month, while the annual inflation rate amounted to 10.9 percent.