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trade. Accordingly, the share of illegal trade may increase. This process has already begun in recent years. Illegal trade and consumption on the lower-end products have reflected in our sales,”, he said.
Zoidze added that consumers were obtaining raw tobacco, which is seven to eight times cheaper than imported cigarettes, but was not subject to quality checks. Smuggling and use of raw tobacco would significantly affect the government’s budget, the lawmaker noted.
Cigarette prices increased by an average of 50 tetri ($0.19/€0.16) in Georgia following amendments to the tax code that came into play on January 1.
6.2 Debt
Georgia - Gross external debt
2Q16 3Q16 4Q16 1Q17 2Q17 3Q17 4Q17 1Q18 2Q18 3Q18
Gross external debt ($ mn)
15,281 15,697 15,872 16,042 16,660 16,881 17,250 17,759 17,416 17,225
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Gross external debt (% GDP)
32.46 32.53 33.92 35.38 41.28 41.6 / /
source: CEIC, World Bank
The gross external debt of Georgia decreased to $17,225mn in the third quarter of 2018 from $17,417mn in the previous quarter. External debt averaged $11,420.4mn from 2007-2017, according to the National Bank of Georgia. Gross external debt include both public sector (general government, public corporations and national bank) and private sector (banking and other sectors) external debt.
Georgia’s government debt is expected to inflate to 3.5% of GDP in 2017-2019, in part due to the depreciation of the Georgian lari and the high level of dollarisation of Georgia's external debt. External government debt is expected to peak at 43% of GDP in 2018.
The country's high current account deficit, which reached 13% of GDP at end-2016, is one of the important sources of external debt.
7.0 FX
Georgia - Foreign exchange rate
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018 Q1
2018 Q2
2018 Q3
Currency (units per EUR) (average)
2.123
2.209
2.346
2.520
2.617
2.832
3.054
2.918
2.940
Currency (units per USD) (average)
1.651
1.663
1.766
2.270
2.367
2.509
2.485
2.446
2.529
Georgia’s central bank attempts to smooth exchange rate “volatility”
Recent exchange rate fluctuations in the Georgian lari are not related to economic fundamentals, Georgia’s central bank stated in a note on November 6, in an attempt at moderating depreciation that has accelerated recently.
26 GEORGIA Country Report March 2019 www.intellinews.com