Georgian wine export problems to Belarus rectified

Five-months of problems surrounding the export of Georgian wine to Belarus have been rectified.

For many countries wine exports to Belarus were suspended for five months as a result of alleged technical problems. Georgia was fortunate to obtain an appropriate license before the problems occurred and was not hugely affected by the issue.

Belarus was Georgia’s fourth largest importer of Georgian wine in 2013.

Wine Agency chairman Levan Davitashvili said all the problems relating to exporting wine to Belarus had been rectified.

"The problem has been negotiated at Governmental level and the Ministry of Agriculture even visited Belarus,” he said.

"[Georgian wine] exports only stumbled over procedural details but never stopped exporting Georgian wine to Belarus,” Davitashvili said.

The wine industry expert said a certificate approving the export of more than 80000 bottles of locally produced Tbilvino wine had already been issued. This allowed wine to be exported despite the issues.

Davitashvili still believed Belarus was "a very challenging country” in terms of controlling the alcohol market.

"The alcohol industry is a strictly regulated industry with quotas and excise-duty stamps, which caused some problems,” Davitashvili said.

Georgia was not the only country to have problems importing wine products to Belarus however Belarus allowed individual licenses for Georgian wine, Davitashvili said.

Belarus was the fourth largest Georgian wine export country in 2013. Meanwhile Georgia was the second largest importer of wine to Belarus, after Moldova.

Click here to see the infographics of Georgian Wine Industry.