The Farmers' Association published a report on wheat market review over the last 10 years. According to the publication, the average family in Georgia spends most of its finances on food, which is reflected in the consumer basket, where the share of food in the total index is 33.1%.
According to the categories, bread products are the most essential products.
"From 2011 to 2017, the price of bread not only increased, but decreased by 5% in 2011-2012. For the first time in the last decade, price increases were recorded in 2018, which was the result of poor harvest in Russia (from which we import wheat). Since May 2021, the price of wheat bread has been rising every month and the growth amounted to 30% in April y-o-y," the review said.
The authors of the publication explain the increase in the price of bread by the increase in the price of raw materials in the world market - wheat and flour.
According to them, after the global financial crisis in 2008, commodity prices in international markets fell sharply and reached their highest level in 2014-2016. Since the beginning of the pandemic, international prices for raw materials, including wheat, have risen sharply. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that according to 2020 data, 28.5% of wheat exported to world accounted for Russia and Ukraine. Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, the price of wheat in international markets has increased by an average of 30%, reflecting more in Eastern Europe and Central Asia than in the rest of the world.
