Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze met representatives of retail chains at the cross-government coordination commission meeting on food prices.

“Business freedom is our main starting point and naturally it has its advantages when businesses independently determine their operations. However, the social aspect comes into play, which is very important. Together with you, we want to review how we can manage to lower prices,” stated the Prime Minister of Georgia during the meeting.

The PM emphasized that the priority of the authorities is to ensure that the benefits of economic growth reach citizens.

“Business freedom is our main guiding principle and naturally, it has its advantages when businesses independently manage their operations. This freedom supports the economy and employment and is important in many ways. However, in this case, a significant social burden falls on the population, which is why we decided, based on consultations, to try to make certain adjustments to the overall situation. In reality, there are cases where price differences are double or even triple. Together with you, we want to discuss what can be done in this direction, how certain practices can be changed to achieve price reductions.

Overall, according to our calculations, the average cumulative markup is 86 percent. We consider 86% to be quite high. Over the past five years, the number of markets in the country has doubled. In Georgia, there are 113 markets per 100 000 people, while in Germany the same indicator is 45 and in Austria 62. There are even lower figures elsewhere. Naturally, this ultimately affects prices and imposes a burden on the population,” added Irakli Kobakhidze.

The Prime Minister of Georgia noted that similar meetings will be held with distributors and local producers. The Commission will also address the prices of medicines and fuel.

About 15 representatives of major retail food chain stores attended the meeting.