Price of bread spikes in Georgia

The retail price of bread in stores throughout Georgia increased by 5-10 tetri today.

The cheapest white bread, which costs 80 tetri (about 30 cents), now stands at 90 tetri (34 cents). Other types of bread are more expensive as well and cost between 1.10 and 1.20 GEL.

The BusinessPressNews agency writes that the reason for the rise in price is an increase in the cost of flour and fuel.

• Minimal subsistence level for a family of 5 in Georgia: 130 USD

• Georgians have become poorer

• Debts of 600,000 Georgians to be cleared before second round of presidential elections

The chairman of the Association of Agricultural Products, Malkhaz Dolidze, says that since the summer, the price of one unit of flour has increased by 32 per cent and amounts to between 47 and 50 lari, whereas in August, one unit cost between 33 and 35 lari. Therefore it is impossible to retain the previous bread price, he says.

A rise in the price of fuel, and thus transportation, further spiked the cost of bread. By law, bread must be packaged in paper bags, which also increases its cost.

Individuals involved in the country’s bread industry told Rustavi-2 that the price of bread should have gone up earlier, but because of the presidential elections, the authorities artificially maintained the previous price.