Business in our country enjoys a high degree of freedom, therefore, price formation is carried out on the basis of free market principles, however, this is where our social responsibility towards our population comes in, and we believe that, based on this responsibility, we can make a certain contribution to the decline in prices, - Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated at today's session of the Government Coordination Commission on Food Prices, which was attended by Georgian producers.

The Head of Government drew attention to the challenges in terms of the sale of Georgian-made products on the Georgian market and spoke about the resources available in terms of price decline.

“We have initial information that the existing rules of the game in the market to some extent prevent Georgian manufacturers from ensuring the proper sale of their products in the Georgian space, in our network markets. In total, the markup from the Georgian border to the shelf is 86%. This does not include any taxes - neither import duties nor VAT. This is a pure markup that occurs at the distribution level and then in network markets. Accordingly, we believe that this markup is quite high. We have seen, for example, the difference between wholesale and shelf prices in European countries, and as a rule, the markup ranges from 20 to 30%. Therefore, we believe that there is room for price reductions, including for Georgian products,” said Irakli Kobakhidze.

Representatives of about 25 Georgian manufacturing companies attended the commission meeting.

This week, meetings will be held in the format of the Government Coordination Commission regarding pharmaceutical and fuel prices.