In December, the khachapuri index in Georgia increased by 8.4% compared to the same period of the previous year. Currently, cooking a standard Imereti khachapuri costs 7.03 GEL (about 150 UAH), which is the highest value in the history of calculations, UNN reports with reference to Novosti Georgia.
"The Khachapuri Index is the Georgian equivalent of the Big Mac Index, which is unofficially used as an indicator of exchange rates in various countries. It is measured monthly by the International School of Economics at Tbilisi State University (ISET).
Over the past decade, the Khachapuri Index has almost doubled, reaching 3.77 GEL as of December 2015.
The last record was set in December 2022 at GEL 6.99.
"The previous peak in 2022 was due to the exceptional circumstances of that year, primarily caused by the war in Ukraine, which led to a sharp rise in ingredient prices. After the decline in 2023, the khachapuri index caught up in December 2024 and resumed its upward trend," the authors of the index say.
Almost all the products needed to make khachapuri have risen in price over the year. Cheese - by 12.3%, oil - by 11.3%, yeast - by 9.3%, milk - by 8.9%, flour - by 3%. Only eggs fell in price (-8.4%).
Compared to November, the index rose by 3.8%. This is a fairly significant monthly increase, but ISET says that such an increase is standard for the pre-New Year holidays. December's growth was driven by a rise in cheese prices - by 8.8% compared to November, while other ingredients showed a slight decline.