Minister of Finance Lasha Khutsishvili made a statement regarding the April economic growth report. He said that the 44.8% growth in April exceeds not only the 2020 rate but also the size of the 2019 economy.
The Minister states that with the exception of the "base effect", the size of the Georgian economy has increased by 21% compared to April 2019 this year. For comparison, due to the lockdown in April 2020, the Georgian economy shrank by 16.6%.
"The baseline was minus 16%. However, to better see how big the baseline effect was, we can easily compare it to 2019. If we compare it to 2019, it has increased by about 21%. Therefore, in two years, we have an increase of about 21%", - said Lasha Khutsishvili.
According to Geostat, the turnover of VAT-paying enterprises in April amounted to 8.44 billion GEL, for comparison, the turnover of VAT-paying enterprises in 2020 was 4.26 billion GEL, and in 2019 it was 6.16 billion GEL. Accordingly, the turnover of the private sector has also increased compared to 2019.
Due to the relatively high growth in April, the government plans to increase the 2021 economic growth target from 4.3% to 6.5% and adjust the budget.
