2020, due to the epidemiological situation, turned out to be a crisisfull for the economy. Regulations, disrupted international traffic, and an unusual world agenda have had a negative impact on the economy. Current year trends show the expectation of a rapid recovery of the economy. This opinion is based on a report published by the National Statistics Office of Georgia. According to preliminary data, in May 2021, compared to May 2020, export from Georgia increased by 45% (105 million USD) and import by 40% (213 million USD). Export in January-May this year improved by 24.4%, while import improved by 16%. The growing dynamics of export and import point to the fact that the economy is slowly reversing the damage caused by the pandemic and returning to the development perspective.
Economy Minister Natia Turnava assessed the preliminary data at a briefing at the government administration and said that economic growth is visible. Special progress is observed in some areas. These are: processing sector, agriculture, services, hotels, tourism and construction development sector.
The current positive developments in the economy and business were also reflected in the GEL exchange rate. According to the National Bank of Georgia, as a result of June 16 trading, the GEL exchange rate strengthened against the US dollar and the Euro. The change in the exchange rate looks like this, it strengthened by 0.94 tetri against the US dollar, after which the official value of one dollar became 3.1657 GEL, against the Euro it strengthened by 1.36 tetri and the official value of one euro was 3.8356 GEL. Decreased by 0.25 tetri and became 4.4674 GEL. Received as a result of the June 16 trade, the official GEL exchange rates took effect on June 17.
The stability of the GEL exchange rate is one of the main components for the sustainability and development of the economy. Its stabilization significantly contributes to business activities, which was confirmed by a survey conducted by the Georgian Business Association and the PMC Research Center. 76% of the respondents named exchange rate instability as a factor hindering business production. The survey is based on an assessment of business association members and companies within their group.
It is clear that all the above areas have a cause-and-effect relationship with each other, so the current positive changes in each sector have a positive impact on both the neighboring sector and the general economic situation in the country.
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Source: https://commersant.ge, https://www.nbg.gov.ge, https://forbes.ge, https://bag.ge