Legislative support for Georgian wine exports to Russia

15.08.2013 (Hvino News) Does the Georgian wine sector require legislative support from the government? The Chief Sanitary Inspector of Russia Gennadiy Onishchenko has stated that Georgian wine exports on the Russian market are undergoing stagnation, and that the products have not had the desired impact on the market as a whole. According to Mr. Onishchenko, government support and legislative changes that would simplify the process for Georgian companies to export alcoholic drinks to Russia are necessary. See more detail here.

In response, the director of Tbilvino Giorgi Margvelashvili has stated that at this stage, the Georgian wine industry does not require additional legislative support. According to him, the current legislation is working fine, and on top of that, the small and medium scale enterprises within the sector get support from the government. Mr. Margvelashvili states that it is far too early to talk about stagnation for Georgian products on the Russian market, and a thorough data analysis should be made once a year has passed following the lifting of the embargo.

On the other hand, the head of the Telavi Winery supervisory board Zurab Ramazashvili sees the proposed initiatives to provide the wine sector with additional legislative support favourably. However, he adds that it would be inappropriate to prioritise certain countries over others. Mr. Ramazashvili regards the control of the manufacturing process as essential, in order to ensure that Georgian wine satisfies all international standards of quality. He sees the relatively small size of the Georgian market as the main reason for the Georgian wine products’ limited influence on the Russian market.

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