GEOSTAT publishes updated consumer basket
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Friday, January 31
Compared to the 2019 consumer basket, 2 items were excluded, and 1 item was added. The weights of the products and services included in the consumer basket were also updated.
The consumer basket is used for calculation of the Consumer Price Index (inflation rate in the country), reflecting the structure of consumption of an average consumer in the country.
The consumer basket for 2020 is based on the consumption structure of the System of National Accounts and data from the Integrated Household Survey.
Using National Accounts data for the consumer basket weights is one of the main recommendations given by Eurostat to the EU member states.
The updated consumer basket reflects the latest consumption pattern of the population, thus enhancing the reliability of the Consumer Price Index (inflation).
Consumer prices are registered from the 10th to the 20th day of each month in six cities (Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi, Gori, Telavi and Zugdidi) at more than 1800 retail outlets.
The CPI includes 12 commodity groups, in line with the international classification (COICOP).
Aggregate indices are calculated for each commodity group from individual indices for each city as well as for the whole country. The official release date of the CPI is the 3rd day of each month.
The data is disseminated through the Geostat website. Indices with 4 different base periods are published: compared to the previous month, compared to the corresponding month of the previous year, a 12-month average over the previous 12-month average and compared to the long-term base period. Besides, the core inflation rate is published.
The consumer basket represents the basis for CPI calculation. It contains goods and services most frequently consumed by an average consumer. The consumer basket is identical to the six cities.
The updated consumer basket for 2020 is based on the consumption structure derived from the national accounts data and integrated household survey results, reflecting the latest expenditure pattern.
Using the national accounts information as a main source of the consumer basket weights is one of the main recommendations given to the EU member countries by Eurostat in the field of price statistics.
At present, the consumer basket contains 305 goods and services. Weights are assigned to each of them based on the respective shares in the overall consumption. Starting from 2012 the consumer basket is updated on an annual basis.
National Statistics Office of Georgia, the legal entity of public law, carries out its activities independently. It is an institution established to produce the statistics and disseminate statistical information according to the Georgian legislation. The National Statistics Office of Georgia is established by the Law of Georgia, 11 December 2009, on Official Statistics.