Armenian wine-making companies cannot occupy the niche of Georgian
wines on the Russian market

Mediamax Agency, Armenia
April 28 2007

Yerevan, April 28 /Mediamax/. The embargo for import of Georgian wines
to Russia did not influence on the volumes of export of Armenian wines
to the given country at all, the Chairman of the Union of Armenian
Wine-Makers Avag Harutiunian stated in Yerevan today.

Mediamax reports that, speaking at a news conference within the
framework of the international forum on the market and the law on
grapes and wine-making production, taking place in Yerevan, Avag
Harutiunian described as ~Sincommensurable~T the export volumes of
Georgian and Armenian wines to Russia.

According to him, before the placement of embargo, Georgia exported
to Russia 40mln bottles of wine annually, and Armenia ~V 500-800
thousand bottles.

Avag Harutiunian stated that the potential export capacity of Armenian
wines makes maximum 3-4mln bottles a year. He also noted that the
main consumer of Armenian wines in Russia is the Armenian Diaspora,
which today uses as much wine, as it did use before the placement of
embargo for the Georgian and Moldavian wines.

All this, according to the assessment of Avag Harutiunian, suggests
that the Armenian wines cannot occupy the niche on the Russian market,
which previously belonged to the Georgian production.

The Director of the French SYGIL Consulting Company François Bobrie,
answering the question of Mediamax on how French wines could appear
in the Armenian retail network at the prices lower than the national
wine production prices, noted:

~SUnfortunately, law quality French wines appear on the Armenian
market, which, of course, influences the reputation of the French
wines on the whole. This can become a lesson for the Armenian exporters
not to export to external markets brandy of bad quality~T.

It is expected that following the results of the forum, there will be
a resolution approved on establishing an association of wine-makers
of 10 countries of the Black Sea basin.

–Boundary_(ID_uIziKYfBCl7iBLQvWMAtLg)–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress