Revaz Vashakidze, founder and managing partner of poultry producer Chirina, says that every producer who attended the government’s “price commission” meeting raised various concerns, making the discussion complex. According to him, the government’s main goal is to systematize all these issues before making any decisions. At this stage, however, he sees little room for reducing prices in poultry products, despite the company’s own interest in selling more at lower prices.
Vashakidze is skeptical that the government can meaningfully reduce food prices in the short term. He argues that any rapid price cuts would not reflect healthy economic processes. In his view, the issue is far more multifaceted than it appears and requires long-term structural changes, including industrial-scale production and targeted legislative reforms. He also recalled past regulatory decisions — such as Tbilisi City Hall removing Chirina’s sales booths in 2018–2019 — which forced new investments and directly increased product prices.
As a long-term solution, Vashakidze proposes regulating supermarket meat departments by law so that producers can supply products directly instead of maintaining separate retail points. Currently, 95% of Chirina’s products are sold through its own network, and only 5% go to Carrefour. He also argues that local production remains expensive because of small-scale operations and the government’s overly lenient approach to imports.
