Georgian companies are in the red zone on the LSE for the second week in a row

Compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year, the unit cost index of agricultural production increased by 15%.The increase in the index was mainly due to an 11.5% increase in the cost of live animals and animal products, which contributed 6.8 pp to the change in the total index.During the same period, the value of annual crops increased by 23.2 percent, and the value of perennial crops by 14.4%, which contributed 3.92 and 4.27 percentage points to the change in the total index, respectively.

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In 2025, the absolute poverty rate in urban areas decreased by 1.8 percentage points, amounting to 6 percent, while in rural areas it decreased by 3.0 percentage points, amounting to 9 percent.In 2025, the absolute poverty rate decreased compared to the previous year across all age groups of the population. Specifically, the indicator was 9.2 percent in the age group under 18 years (-2.9 percentage points), in the 18-64 age group – 7.0 percent (-2.3 percentage points), and in the population aged 65 and older – 5.2 percent (-1.5 percentage points).The absolute poverty rate for women decreased by 2 percentage points, while for men it decreased by 2.6 percentage points and amounted to 7.1 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively.In 2025, the share of the population under 60 percent of the median consumption decreased by 1.6 percentage points, amounting to 17.3 percent, while the share of the population under 40 percent of the median consumption decreased by 1.5 percentage points, amounting to 5.2 percent.In 2025, compared to the previous year, the value of the Gini coefficient decreased by 0.01 based on both total incomes and total consumption expenditures, amounting to 0.34.

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In the I quarter of 2026 the monthly average number of tourist visits of Georgian residents amounted to 665.0 thousand, which is 6.6 percent higher than the corresponding figure of the previous year. The chart №2 illustrates the distribution of monthly average number of visits made by Georgian resident visitors by the type of visit.he majority of visitors, 36.2 percent, were from the age group of 51-70 and women accounted for 55 percent of the total number of visitors.According to the survey results, 37.2 percent of visitors are the residents of Tbilisi, 15.2 percent — Imereti, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti region, while the rest of the regions are represented by the relatively lower shares.In the I quarter of 2026 the main purpose of the majority of visits (54.7 percent) was visiting friends/relatives.In the reporting period majority of the visits were made in Tbilisi (on average 415.0 thousand visits per month) and Imereti region (on average 322.4 thousand visits per month).In the I quarter of 2026 the monthly average expenditure during the visits equaled 273.6 million GEL, 12.9 percent higher compared to the corresponding figure of the previous year. Meanwhile, the average expenditure per visit increased by 7.4 percent and equaled 172.7 GEL.

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The main source of household income is cash incomes and transfers. In 2025, this share increased by 0.1 percentage points compared to the previous year, amounting to 90.5%. The figure was 94.2% in urban areas and 83.2% in rural areas.The average monthly income per household in urban areas increased by 12.9 percent, amounting to 2 233 GEL, while in rural areas it increased by 11.3 percent, equaling 1 954 GEL.In the structure of cash incomes and transfers, the largest share is held by wages and salaries, which increased by 1.7 percentage points compared to the previous year, reaching 49.3 percent. The share of self-employment income increased by 0.7 percentage points, amounting to 13.3 percent. The share of income from pensions, scholarships, and social assistance decreased by 0.3 percentage points, reaching 21.9 percent. The structure of cash incomes and transfers differs between urban and rural settlements.In 2025, the average monthly expenditures in Georgia increased by 11.6 percent compared to the previous year and amounted to 1 936 GEL per household and 603 GEL per capita.According to the survey results, in 2025, the share of household cash consumption expenditure in total expenditures decreased by 0.5 percentage points compared to the previous year, amounting to 69.3 percent.The average monthly expenditures per household in urban areas increased by 11.1 percent and amounted to 2 015 GEL, while in rural areas it increased by 12.2 percent and equaled 1 799 GEL.In the structure of cash consumption expenditure, expenditure on food, beverages and tobacco was the highest, increasing by 0.6 percentage points compared to the previous year and amounting to 38.7 percent. The structure of cash consumption expenditure differs between urban and rural settlements.

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According to the head of government, negotiations with the Chinese-Singaporean consortium are currently ongoing and there are no plans to start a new process. He noted that since the project is underway, the state has the opportunity not to artificially accelerate the processes, but the final decision will not be made later than the end of the year.“A decision should be made soon, in the coming months, regarding the specific model of continuing cooperation,” the Prime Minister said.Kobakhidze also spoke about the ongoing work directly on the port territory and confirmed that there was a small pause in the process, which was caused by the revision of the financial terms of the contract.“The terms of the contract, the financial side, have been significantly reduced. The state will have to spend much less on deepening works. This took a little time, although the work continues with the appropriate intensity,” he noted.According to the Prime Minister, in parallel with the construction of the port, the state is actively working on the arrangement of the surrounding road and railway infrastructure, so that all related projects can be implemented within the appropriate timeframe.

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According to the explanatory note to the draft law, the current sanctions in a number of cases fail to provide a preventive function of administrative liability. The scope of the new regulation includes such large entities as: energy and industrial facilities, oil depots, mineral miners, metallurgical and chemical plants, infrastructure constructions and facilities that have wastewater.The main financial sanctions provided for by the draft law: Activities without an environmental decision: will be fined from 25,000 to 30,000 GEL (under the current regulation, the sanction was from 7,000 to 10,000 GEL). Activities without a screening procedure: will be determined from 7,000 to 10,000 GEL, and in case of repeated violation - 20,000 GEL. Arbitrary change of operating conditions: Changing the conditions without a relevant decision will result in a fine of 25,000 to 30,000 GEL (instead of 7,000 - 10,000 GEL), and a repeated case will result in a fine of 50,000 GEL (the current sanction was 14,000 GEL). Failure to fulfill obligations and failure to apply: A person who does not apply to the agency for an environmental decision will be warned for the first time, and will be fined 5,000 GEL for a repeated violation. The legislative package also changes the rules of administration. In particular, employees of the Environmental Supervision Department are authorized to consider violations on the spot and issue a penalty receipt in cases where additional investigation is not required. In addition, the agency will be able to publicly publish fine receipts on its website if the violator fails to submit the document twice. In such a situation, the receipt will automatically be considered submitted on the 30th day after publication.According to the authors, tightening sanctions will also lead to an increase in state budget revenues, although the specific financial effect will be independent of the number of violations recorded.

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In her speech, Ekaterine Mikabadze focused on the importance of sustainability reporting for the development of the banking sector and capital markets. According to her, at the international level, sustainability reporting is increasingly becoming an important component of corporate governance, effective risk management and informed investment decision-making.“The National Bank of Georgia considers sustainable finance to be one of the important foundations of financial stability and long-term economic sustainability,” said Ekaterine Mikabadze.She also spoke about the reforms and initiatives implemented by the National Bank in the direction of sustainable finance. In particular, the introduction of ESG guidelines, ESG reporting and information disclosure framework for commercial banks, as well as the development of a regulatory framework for green, social, sustainability and sustainability-related bonds.According to Ekaterine Mikabadze, the quality and reliability of information are of particular importance for the development of sustainable finance, and appropriate assurance services contribute to strengthening investor confidence and reducing the risks of so-called “greenwashing”.“We believe that, in parallel with the introduction of sustainability reporting, attention should also be focused on the development and introduction of relevant assurance services in the local market,” said Ekaterine Mikabadze.Head of the Financial Stability Department of the National Bank of Georgia, David Utiashvili, participated in the panel discussion “Benefits and Challenges of Sustainability Reporting” held within the framework of the meeting.Representatives of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia, the Polish Audit Supervision Agency (PANA), the Pension Fund, the World Bank and the private sector also participated in the event. The participants of the meeting discussed the directions of development of sustainability reporting in Georgia and the importance of sharing international practices.

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The event was opened by the First Vice Governor of the National Bank of Georgia, Ekaterine Mikabadze.As part of the meeting, representatives of the NBG introduced students to both the theoretical and practical aspects of the Bank’s activities. The discussions covered topics including monetary policy, financial stability and sustainable finance, capital markets and investments, as well as financial technologies. Students were also introduced to the functions and responsibilities of the NBG, along with internship opportunities offered by the institution. At the end of the meeting, representatives of the NBG answered students’ questions.“Financial education is one of the NBG’s key priorities. We place particular emphasis on educating the younger generation. In this regard, platforms that connect theoretical knowledge acquired at universities with practical economic and business processes are especially important. Today, we introduced up to 40 students to the functioning of the country’s financial system and discussed Georgia’s macroeconomic environment, financial stability, and the challenges facing the region. I would like to thank the Europe Business Association Youth Academy and the students for their strong interest and active engagement,” said Ekaterine Mikabadze.To enhance financial awareness and strengthen interest in economics among young people, the National Bank of Georgia actively implements educational projects and information campaigns.

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