BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 11. The baseline outlook envisages Georgia’s GDP growth in 2023 to recover to 5.5 percent, and somewhat slow down in 2024 - to 5 percent, Trend reports via Europe and Central Asia Economic Update from the World Bank (WB).
According to the report, amid the hostilities between Russia and Ukraine, Georgia’s GDP growth in 2022 is expected to drop to 2.5 percent, compared to the initial forecast of 5.5 percent.
Georgia’s dependence on imports from Russia and Ukraine, especially in grain, is highly increased. The countries are also among top Georgia’s trading partners and key destinations for wine and beverages export. Thus, there is limited potential to divert some of the affected exports to alternative markets in the short term, the WB said.
Russia and Ukraine are also among the main countries of origin for tourist visits in Georgia, as well as in remittances inflows, and the decline in those sectors might put another drawback on Georgia’s overall economic recovery, the report noted.
“However, the baseline outlook envisions growth recovery from
2023 onward, as easing monetary policy, recovery of tourism, and
the restoration of economic links are partly offset by the gradual
withdrawal of
the fiscal stimulus,” the WB added.
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