Russia may ban Georgian wine again

By Ana Robakidze

Thursday, August 6

Georgian wine was re-entered to the Russian market under the current government of Georgia

Rospotrebnadzor claims that only tens batches out of 6.7 million litres of wine Georgia exported to Russia only in 2015 do not meet the quality standards

Russia is unhappy with the quality of Georgian wine. According to Russia’s Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-being (Rospotrebnadzor), Georgian companies violate safety regulations while producing their wines.

“Quality tests confirmed the violations and insufficient control of the production process by Georgia’s producers and responsible agencies,” said the agency representative, accusing Georgian state agencies in neglecting safety standards while checking the quality of the good the country exports. Rospotrebnadzor claims tens batches out of 6.7 million litres of wine Georgian exported to Russia only in 2015 do not meet the quality standards and was banned from the market.

Georgian Ministry of Agriculture immediately reacted to the statements of Rospotrebnadzor and said the responsible departments of the ministry as well as the state laboratories strictly control the quality of Georgia manufactured products.

“Wine is the main product Georgia exports, and manufacturers as well as the state are interested in protecting product quality and safety,” the ministry said in its official statement. The ministry will look into the case internally.

Russia is reconsidering its economic policy with the rest of the world. According to Russia’s Ministry of Agriculture Moscow plans to impose embargo on the countries that recently joined European Union sanctions against Russia. Russian news agency RiaNovosti informs based on the ministry press center that a new bill is being initiated that will put embargo on the products of seven more countries. While the ministry of agriculture is still working on the list, it was revealed that Georgia is one of the countries Russia is going to embargo.

Georgia is also being discussed. “The list of the countries to be embargoed is being evaluated,” its spokesman said.

Georgia exports wine to 35 countries worldwide. Georgina alcoholic beverages are increasing its share on world markets every year. Export of Georgian wine has doubled to Canada and tripled in South Korea.