“Over the past month, different categories of diesel fuel have increased in price by between 36 and 50 tetri. The most serious issue is that, because of these rising costs, Georgian grape growers and farmers are facing a dilemma: whether to stop producing the crops they grow, reduce the size of their cultivated areas, or give up farming altogether. Where did the lari promised in 2012 go? Why has fuel not become cheaper? What is the specific reason for this?” - Tazo Datunashvili, one of the leaders of Lelo – Strong Georgia, said at a briefing.

According to him, amid instability in international markets, Georgian Dream is obliged not to stand by and watch Georgian farmers struggle and should, as a temporary measure, reduce or completely abolish the excise tax.

“Fourteen years ago, Bidzina Ivanishvili came to power, among other things, promising to reduce fuel prices. One of Georgian Dream’s main promises 14 years ago was to reduce the price of fuel by 1 lari. Fourteen years have passed since then, and we are now in September, when the entire country is engaged in the grape harvest and harvesting crops, while Georgian farmers are seeing the cost of the primary fuel they use during harvesting and cultivation rise every day.

Over the past month, different categories of diesel fuel have increased in price by between 36 and 50 tetri. For example, at Gulf, Euro Diesel has increased by 50 tetri. At G-Force, Euro Diesel has increased by 48 tetri. At Wissol, Eco Diesel has increased by 46 tetri, while Euro Diesel has increased by 47 tetri. At SOCAR, Euro 5 Diesel has increased by 48 tetri, while Nano Euro 5 Diesel has increased by 36 tetri,” Datunashvili said.

According to him, comparing current figures with those from 2012 makes the situation even more alarming. He said that over the past 14 years, the price of diesel has increased by 2.60 lari.

“When diesel becomes this expensive, it massively increases all the costs incurred by grape growers, farmers, or ordinary agricultural producers in order to generate their annual income. Ultimately, this price increase does not affect only farmers’ pockets; it affects the entire population because prices rise throughout the entire supply chain, ultimately increasing the cost of Georgian agricultural products. This means they become less competitive compared with imported products, which currently dominate the Georgian market.

The most serious issue is that because of these costs, Georgian grape growers and farmers are facing a dilemma: whether to stop producing the crops they grow, reduce the size of their cultivated areas, or give up farming altogether. Specific figures confirm this trend: over the past 10 years, the area of cultivated land in Georgia has decreased by 26%,” Datunashvili said.