The head of the Georgian Bakers' Union, Malkhaz Dolidze, has criticized Georgia's so-called balancing tax on imported flour, arguing that the measure has harmed bakeries instead of supporting the sector.
Speaking to BMG, Dolidze said the GEL 15 levy per sack of imported flour is excessive and has effectively cut bakers off from high-quality, high-gluten flour previously available from abroad. He said imported flour had been used to improve bread quality, but bakeries now have little choice but to rely on the domestic market.
According to Dolidze, local mills currently supply flour produced from blends of Russian and Georgian wheat. He warned that the lack of competition reduces incentives for mills to maintain high quality and deprives bakers of the ability to choose products based on both price and quality.
The flour import levy was introduced in 2023 to protect domestic wheat producers, who argued they could not compete with cheaper Russian flour imports. The tax also applies to barley and bran. However, Dolidze is urging the government to review the policy, saying it has significantly reduced flour imports while making it harder for bakeries to produce higher-quality bread.
