Issue 21: Ukraine’s Monetary Stability: Monetary and Exchange Rate Policy
05-Dec-2023
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Ukraine has adopted various measures and policies to support business and economic activities in the country. Alongside fiscal policies as well as business and labor support programs, monetary regulations have played a crucial role in ensuring the resilience of its wartime economy.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has been efficiently responding to monetary developments, implementing effective actions to maintain the country’s monetary stability. This bulletin provides an overview of some of the most recent monetary and exchange rate policies adopted in Ukraine and analyzes their effectiveness by looking at three key monetary stability indicators: exchange rate, inflation, and reserves.
UKRAINIAN PUBLICATION
Hazelnut Production Sector in Georgia
30-Nov-2023
Georgia is a significant contributor to the global hazelnut industry, ranking among the world’s leading countries in both shelled and in-shell hazelnut exports.
Nearly all (97.9%) Georgian hazelnuts are produced in the following five regions: Samegrelo (42.2%); Guria (20.7%); Kakheti (12.9%); Adjara (12.0%); and Imereti (10.5%). Among these regions, the price of hazelnuts is highest in Kakheti, followed by Samegrelo and Imereti.
Most of the hazelnuts produced in Georgia are exported. The leading importer countries of Georgian hazelnuts are Italy and Germany.
Employment Tracker (October, 2023)
27-Nov-2023
In October 2023, the number of persons receiving a monthly salary increased by 5.1% compared to the corresponding period of 2022.
In October 2023, the share of persons receiving a monthly salary up to 600 GEL amounted to 17.9%, which was 4.6 percentage points less than the corresponding period of 2022.
In October 2023, the share of persons receiving a monthly salary of 9,600 GEL and more amounted to 1.9%, which was 0.3 percentage points more than the corresponding period of 2022.
In 2023, from May to October, the total number of vacancies published on jobs.ge amounted to 45,954, which was 5.1% higher compared to the corresponding period of 2022.
Issue 146: Emigration and the Effect of Remittances on the Georgian Economy (2013-2022)
20-Nov-2023
Georgia is considered a country of emigration. Since the mid-1990s, emigration from the country has been largely defined as labor migration, with Georgian citizens seeking better prospects abroad to ease persistent socio-economic challenges at home, including high unemployment, widespread poverty, and low wages.
A distinctive feature of this trend is that a significant proportion of Georgian labor emigrants choose to reside and work illegally in their host countries. Meanwhile, for Georgians who opt to emigrate, their primary motivation for doing so is to earn enough to support their families back in Georgia to whom they send remittances to alleviate economic hardships.
This bulletin discusses Georgia’s emigration trends and the role of remittances in the Georgian economy at macro and micro levels over the last decade.
Monthly Tourism Update (October, 2023)
14-Nov-2023
In Q3 of 2023, the number of international visits reached 2.3 million visits, recording a 21% YoY increase, however, only reaching 83% of visits in Q3 of 2019.
Among the top countries of origin for international visits, in the following periods, visits from Israel are expected to decline due to geopolitical issues. However, visits from China are set to increase gradually with the new visa-free policy. Additionally, India’s tourism market remains promising, despite some border crossing challenges for visitors.
In Q3 of 2023, income from international travel reached USD 1.4 billion, which significantly surpasses the pre-pandemic number by 28%, however, showing an incremental 5% rise compared to Q3 of 2022.
In October 2023, compared to October 2022, the Hotel Price Index (HPI) in Georgia decreased by 11.1%, with the yearly HPI at its lowest under the “guesthouses” category (-18.7%). Meanwhile, compared to September 2023, the HPI in October 2023 dropped by 11.3%.