Page 60 - GEORptAug21

Rising wheat prices drivers for a sharp rise in Georgian inflation
easing the access to information on Georgian wineries and wines.
“We are delighted to see sales of Georgian wine continue to go from strength to strength here in the UK,” said Abbott.
“We are working hard to take the sector to the next level with all these new initiatives. The quality of the wines being produced in Georgia is rising all the time, and it is a hugely exciting and dynamic sector. We hope that by providing the tools for the importers to access all the great wines coming out of the country, more producers will find representation here.”
An online launch and presentation of these new resources, as well as tips on sourcing and promoting Georgian wine, will be held on 21 July.
The Russian government said at the start of February it would impose a floating tax for wheat exports from June 2. In Georgia, about 80,000-100,000 tonnes of wheat are harvested every year. That covers less than 10% of the overall consumption countrywide.
Last year, 87.3% of the wheat imported into Georgia (430,236 tonnes) came from Russia. Georgia plans to partially replace Russian wheat with Kazakh grains with the Russian wheat export tax doubling per tonne, according to executive director of the Georgian Flour Producers Association Levan Silagava, speaking in March.
The main drivers for a sharp rise in inflation, seen by Galt & Taggart analyst Kavtaradze as climbing to above 10% by the end of the year (the IMF’s projection is 9.4%), are base effects following subsidies paid by the government in the winter of 2020-2021 and the increase in the price of bakery products consecutive to rising wheat prices expected on the regional market. Kavtaradze added that “inflation will be affected by rising prices for bread products, although the pressure of other categories may be eased and balanced. But this does not mean that there will be a significant downward trend in inflation in the coming months.”
9.1.10 Retail sector news
Georgian producers and suppliers initiate lawsuits against Carrefour
The city court in Tbilisi has accepted several lawsuits filed by Georgian manufacturers and distributors against French retailer Carrefour, accusing it of charging illegal fees, Business Media has reported.
As things stand, nine companies are suing the retailer for illegal actions, while several more lawsuits are being prepared by lawyers.
Carrefour stores are operated in Georgia under a franchise held by Majid Al Futtaim - an Emirati holding company based in Dubai that as of 2015 owned and operated shopping malls, retail and leisure establishments in the Middle East and North Africa, with operations in 13 countries.
The Distributors' Business Association has announced the launch of its own lawsuit against Carrefour.
The subject of the disputes is in almost all the cases identical. Georgian companies are claiming Carrefour is charging, and deducting from their invoices, fees without a legal basis, namely, fees that are not included in the contracts. Furthermore, the contracts allegedly include different provisions in the English versions compared to the versions in the Georgian language. Most of the companies have already terminated their contracts with the retailer and have stopped supplying products.
As it turns out, according to Business Media, which talked with some of the retailers, Carrefour treats almost all suppliers in the same way: it charges a fairly hefty fee for selling their products, imposes a so-called marketing fee and deducts fees for each store opened without a prior agreement with the
60 GEORGIA Country Report August 2021 www.intellinews.com