The Georgian government has submitted a draft law to Parliament that would introduce state regulation of pesticide and agrochemical prices, citing significant price instability and cases of high markups in the domestic market. Monitoring by the Competition and Consumer Protection Agency found instances where markups exceeded 100%.
Although the bill was initially set for accelerated review, its discussion has been postponed to the September parliamentary session. The initiative, prepared by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, aims to stabilize prices and reduce excessive intermediary costs for farmers.
If adopted, the government would gain authority to set rules and determine maximum retail prices. Importers would be required to purchase products directly from manufacturers or official representatives and provide detailed information on each shipment, including invoices, quantities, and pricing.
The proposed system would group products by origin and technical characteristics to calculate annual price ceilings. Authorities say the reform would improve affordability of agricultural inputs, which account for 20–50% of production costs depending on the crop, and introduce fines for non-compliance ranging from warnings to GEL 30,000.
