YEREVAN BRANDY FACTORY TO PURCHASE AT LEAST 30,000 TONS OF GRAPES IN 2008
ARKA
May 15, 2008
YEREVAN, May 15. /ARKA/. The Yerevan Brandy Factory intends to purchase
at least 30,000 tons of grapes in 2008, Executive Director of the
Yerevan Brandy Factory closed joint stock company Cedrik Retailleau
said at his meeting with Armenian Minister of Agriculture David Lokian.
In 2007, the company purchased about 30,000 tons of grapes and this
year the purchase volume will not be less impressive, Retailleau said
as quoted by the Press Service of the Ministry of Agriculture.
The Executive Director of the company said that the sales of Armenian
cognac have substantially grown especially in Russia, Kazakhstan,
Ukraine and a number of European countries. The factory plans to
increase the grapes purchase volume this year, particularly in Tavush
region where a workshop will be established for preliminary processing,
he said.
The meeting participants stressed the importance of passing a law
about production of alcoholic drinks made of grapes to review the
current wine-making technical regulations. Retailleau proposed to
set up a wine-making association using the French experience.
According to Armenia’s Ministry of Agriculture, 240,000 tons of
grapes crop is expected this year against the last year 220,000 tons,
including 144,000 tons purchased by processing enterprises.
The Yerevan Brandy Factory was founded in 1887. The current factory
complex was put in operation in 1953. In June 1998 the factory joined
the Pernod Ricard group, an international corporation owning a number
of famous trademarks of alcoholic drinks and ranking the second in the
world in production and sales of alcoholic drinks. The Pernod Ricard
purchased the Yerevan Brandy factory for $30mln at an international
tender.