A possible embargo on the Moldovan wines in Russia will not have the same impact as in 2006, considers the president of the Union of Oenologists of Moldova Gheorghe Arpentin. In an interview for Radio Free Europe, Arpentin said that after the export of Moldovan wines to Russia was halted in 2006, the Moldovan wine companies ‘learned the lesson’ and many of them diversified the markets to which they export and the business partners. Control over the consignments of exported wine was significantly improved, IPN reports.
Arpentin considers that there are no reasons for a new embargo, while the recent accusations made by the Russian partners as regards the quality of the Moldovan products have a political subtext. According to him, a possible ban on the export of wine products to Russia will yet cause considerable losses to the Moldovan businesses, many of whom are in the process of modernization.
Exports to Russia represent about 35% of all the wine exports. But the Moldovan producers also export wine to other CIS states such as Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine. If the embargo is imposed by the other countries that form part of the Customs Union too, the damage will be much grater as Moldova now exports 60% of its wine products to the traditional markets.
As regards the export to the EU, Gheorghe Arpentin said that Moldova will make use of the quotas that are granted under the preferential trade regime. The actions to promote the Moldovan wines on the EU market will ne stepped up. The largest volume of Moldovan wine is exported to the countries of Central Europe.
“It’s not credible to say that we are a winemaking country, but to consume beer and vodka en masse. In this respect, the wine was declared food products and a zero excise duty was introduced on the sale of wine from grapes. The sales of wine this year are projected to rise by 5-6 million bottles. This is only the first year. We will see what effect these measures produce the next years,” said Arpentin.
According to statistics, in 2005 Moldova exported wine to the value of US$207 million to Russia, but in 2012 exports totaled US$40.4 million. According to a communiqué from Russia’s food safety body Rospotrebnadzor, over 28,000 liters of alcoholic products imported from Moldova so far this year didn’t meet the Russian standards. This is 0.1% of Moldova’s exports to Russia.
