Merab Lominadze, chairman of the Association of Qualified Electricity Consumers, says the introduction of a fee on imported rebar was the right decision, as it protected local producers from what he described as dumping and allowed them to continue operating. However, he said the measure alone cannot address the steel sector’s broader challenges.
According to Lominadze, high energy costs, particularly electricity prices, remain one of the main obstacles to the development of energy-intensive industries such as metallurgy. He said Georgian producers face a disadvantage compared with competitors in neighboring countries, including Russia, Iran and Turkey, where energy costs can be lower.
Lominadze said the import fee should be viewed as a preventive measure rather than a long-term solution. Georgia consumes around 55,000–60,000 tonnes of rebar per month, while local producers currently supply roughly one-quarter to half of that demand, with the remainder covered by imports. He argued that supporting domestic steel producers is important given the scale of construction and development activity in the country.
He also highlighted the difference in electricity costs, saying qualified consumers in Georgia paid around 9 US cents per kWh last month, compared with about 3.9 cents in Azerbaijan and 6.4 cents in Armenia for comparable industrial users. The GEL 420 fee on imported rebar has been extended until March 1, 2027, from the previously scheduled expiry of September 1, 2026.
