With prices “going mad” Georgia should focus on increase of its agricultural production and creation of new jobs, including in tourism, President Saakashvili said on January 20.

“Under the current conditions, when we face a lot of challenges, including economic ones, when the prices have gone mad worldwide: price of fuel is increasing, price of food is increasing, prices of staple goods are increasing, the only way out of the situation, especially when we do not produce fuel, is to increase agricultural production in Georgia – that is why we bring here new seeds, new species; and secondly, we should develop, create new jobs so that they are able to buy these expensive products and tourism is one of the major means of employment,” Saakashvili said.

Agriculture contributes less than 10% of country’s GDP. Saakashvili said last November, that Georgia should boost agriculture’s contribution to GDP to over 20% in next five years.

Saakashvili was speaking while visiting a new hotel in eastern Georgian town of Signagi; the hotel, owned by Temur Chkonia, who runs Georgian bottler of Coca-Cola products and whose company owns McDonald's franchise, was opened in a building previously housing local prosecutor’s office.

“Previously the prosecutor’s office was entering into businesses,” Saakashvili said in reference to … and now private business is entering into the prosecutor’s office, but, of course, for doing a business,” Saakashvili said adding that Chkonia would also build a new hotel in Mestia, high-mountainous region of Svaneti.

Speaking at a government meeting in Mestia in December, Saakashvili called on businessmen "to open eyes" and to invest in construction of hotels in Svaneti, which, as Saakashvili said, would host at least 500,000 tourists annually in four years.