Georgia exports 86.2 mln bottles of wine in 2018, record high of last 30 years

Georgia exported about 86.2 million bottles of wine to 53 countries in 2018, which is a record high in the last 30 years, announces the Georgian National Wine Agency.

Last year Georgia generated $203 million from the sale of wine abroad.

Revenue increased by 20% from 2017, while the volume of exports increased by 13%, said the Georgian National Wine Agency.

The top 10 countries that imported the most bottles of Georgia wine in 2018 were:

1. Russia – 53,682,627 bottles
2. Ukraine – 10,687,835 bottles
3. China – 6,951,019 bottles
4. Kazakhstan – 3,599,143 bottles
5. Poland – 3,508,122 bottles
6. Latvia – 1,711,078 bottles
7. Belarus – 1,606,002
8. Estonia – 581,190
9. Lithuania – 488,154
10. Germany – 483,791

To European countries:

• Switzerland – 378% increase (25,350 bottles)
• Denmark – 111% (17,834 bottles)
• Romania – 100% increase (99,774 bottles)
• Czech Republic – 81% increase (61,908 bottles)
• Italy – 69% increase (17,244 bottles)

To traditional export markets and Asia:

• South Korea - 275% increase (68,124 bottles)
• Turkmenistan -196% increase (197,694 bottles)
• Kyrgyzstan - 63% increase (218,550 bottles)
• Azerbaijan - 40% increase (197,724 bottles)
• Japan - 37% increase (211,883 bottles)
• Poland - 31% increase (3,508,122 bottles)
• Great Britain - 33% increase (105,608 bottles)
• Mongolia - 27% increase (214,398 bottles)
• Ukraine - 26% increase (10,687,835 bottles)
• Russia - 12% increase (53,682,627 bottles)

Last year 284 companies exported wine, said the Georgian National Wine Agency.

Meanwhile, Georgia exported 20 million bottles of Georgian brandy (+9%) and 422,000 bottles of Chacha (+47%) abroad in 2018.

In total, Georgia has sold $306.5 million worth of alcoholic beverages in 2018, including wine, brandy, chacha and others.