At the Parliamentary session held on 30 April 2014, the representative of the Parliamentary Minority, Mikheil Machavariani, stated:  “Another problem is the price increase, inflation… According to only the latest documents, prices for practically everything rose by an average of 20-25%. Prices of some products reveal as much as a 200% increase.”

FactCheck

took interest in the MP’s statement and verified its accuracy.

In order to establish the average degree of price increase we have to take notice of the variation in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The change in the CPI determines the level of inflation which on its part reflects the percentage of increase in the general price level.

In line with the data of GeoStat,

the inflation rate in April of 2014 was recorded at 3.4% as compared to April 2013. Price increase was registered predominantly in food and non-alcoholic beverages (7.6%) whose share in the overall inflation rate of 3.4% amounted to 2.29 units.

As concerns the monthly inflation, in April of 2014 the rate of inflation amounted to 0.3% when compared to March of the same year. Similar to the previous case, the price increase in food and non-alcoholic beverages (0.7%) accounted for the prevalent share of this indicator; namely, for 0.32 units in the inflation rate of 0.3%.

As to the price increase of 200% on certain products, in accordance with the data of GeoStat, in April of 2014 the highest rate of increase relative to April of 2013 was recorded in the prices of potatoes – 126.1%; in March – the potato again by 124%; in February – herbs by 143.2%, potatoes by 121.8%; January – herbs by 130.7% and potatoes by 104.2%.

In comparison to the previous month, in April of 2014 the largest increase was recoded in the prices for green beans – 143.4% and cabbage – 110.6%; in March of the same year, the most notable surge was witnessed in the prices of tangerines – 25.2% and bananas – 24.4%; in February the same held true for tangerines with 31.6% rise in prices whereas in January the prices shot up on herbs – 56.1% and green beans – by an equal 56.1%.

Conclusion

In April of 2014 the annual inflation rate stood at 3.4% whereas monthly inflation was recorded at 3%. Evidently, these indicators come in disagreement with the figures named by the MP. Furthermore, throughout the year 2014, the monthly and the annual inflation rates never surpassed the indicator of 3.5%, much less reach 20-25% as claimed by Mikheil Machavariani.

Additionally, as reported by GeoStat, no food products showed an increase in prices as high as 200%. It is to be noted, however, that some of the products of primary use, such a potatoes and herbs, saw a considerable rise in prices.

Consequently, we conclude that the MP’s statement:  “Another problem is the price increase, inflation… According to only the latest documents, prices for practically everything rose by an average of 20-25%. Prices of some products reveal as much as a 200% increase,” is FALSE.

Originally published in The Financial, issue N. 19(399)