The Russian Association of Vine Growers and Winemakers is urging the government to cancel the preferential regime for wine imports from Georgia and to impose a 200% tax on wine imports from NATO member states.
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According to the association's data, the share of imported wine in the Russian market increased by 4 percentage points in 2023 compared to the previous year, amounting to 48%, while the share of sales of domestically produced wine decreased during this time.
"We have decided to appeal again to the government and the State Duma to strengthen measures to protect the Russian market," said the executive director of the association, Alexey Plotnikov, to Russian media.
The Association of Vintners and Winemakers is proposing to set a 20% to 50% quota for Russian wine in shops and cafes starting from September.
The Russian Association of Winegrowers and Winemakers unites dozens of companies. Since 2019, its board has been headed by Dmitry Kiselyov, the director general of Russia Today, a TV host and propagandist media outlet of the Russian government, who is also involved in winemaking and owns the Cock t'est belle winery in the occupied Crimea.
Russia is the main export market for Georgian wine. According to Geostat data, in 2023, approximately 62 million tons of natural grape wine worth 168 304 300 USD was exported there. In the first five months of the year, Georgia was in first place among wine-importing countries. Additionally, in 2023, compared to 2022, the export of wine from Georgia to Russia decreased by 10.9%.
The import tax on wine from Georgia to Russia is zero.
