The Georgian Retail Association says it does not see a need for the proposed law on unfair trading practices in the food supply chain. The bill is among 65 initiatives the government plans to submit to Parliament during the autumn session.
Association Chairman Giorgi Khabashvili told BMG that the retail sector will actively participate in legislative discussions but is currently waiting to review the bill’s full text. He said the association cannot yet form a final position because the bill was only recently registered.
Khabashvili said Georgian retailers already support local producers and farmers, with individual chains having internal policies designed to create favorable conditions for small businesses. “To my knowledge, local farmers do not have problems with retailers,” he said, adding that the association would welcome legislation if it helps preserve positive practices in the sector.
On imports and distribution, Khabashvili said international practice generally focuses on protecting local production and farmers rather than giving imports an advantage. The bill, to be presented by the Environment and Agriculture Ministry, follows the work of the so-called Price Commission and is mainly aimed at regulating relations between producers and retail chains. Distributors, however, argue that limiting the regulation to producers would not address broader market challenges and that it should cover the entire supplier chain.
