The Human Rights and Civil Integration Committee heard the Annual Report for 2024, introduced by the Chair of the Georgian Competition and Consumer Agency, Irakli Lekvinadze.

According to him, two inquiries have been accomplished in 2024, one of which covered the unfair competition, while the second encompassed the cartel agreement.

As per the reporter, four inquiries are underway covering: the pharmaceutical market, Rustavi car market, Batumi fish trading and e-commerce market issues.

The reporter reviewed the market monitoring progress, which, through the market assessment, outlines the tendencies. Two market monitoring procedures have been undertaken in 2024 - on the agrarian and fuel markets.

Irakli Lekvinadze provided insights into the food market monitoring, highlighting the significant rise in expenditures faced by importers and product suppliers when entering the food supply chains. This increased burden exerts pressure on food prices.

The reporter accentuated the state of the protection of consumer rights, underlining that the Agency has scrutinised up to 900 applications in 2024; furthermore, up to 7000 phone calls were received by the GCCA, most of which included claims on online trade.

The emphasis was placed on the anti-dumping measures undertaken by the Agency.

The Committee gave a positive assessment of the report.