Georgia-China discuss Chinese market opportunities for Georgian wine

The opportunities for Georgian wine on the Chinese market were discussed in the format of an online dialogue in the framework of the Silk Road project 'One Belt-One Road’ on May 6, 2020.

The National Wine Agency Chairman Levan Mekhuzla and the Ambassador of Georgia to China Archil Kalandia  participated in the dialogue.

The participants of the dialogue discussed new challenges and opportunities of the Chinese wine market and new ways to popularise Georgian wine.

The online dialogue was held in the “Yanjiu Night Talks” of the TV channel “Beijing Yunjiu Media.”

More than 70,000 people watched the broadcast.

Mekhuzla presented the history and culture of the Georgian wine. He spoke about the success of Georgian wine, the situation in the modern wine industry and the future perspectives. He noted the importance of the Chinese wine market for Georgia as Chine has been in the five top countries in the list of Georgian wine importing countries in recent years.

Georgia exported 94 million bottles of wine to 53 countries in 2019. The country generated $240 million from the sale of wine abroad in 2019, which is 17% more compared to 2018.

Top three countries Georgia exported wine in 2019 were:

• Poland – 4,114,972 bottles (17% increase)
• China – 7,089,259 bottles (2% increase)
• United States – 678,148 bottles (48% increase)

Meanwhile, Georgia exported 31.6 million (+58%) bottles of Georgian brandy and 625,000 bottles of Chacha (+48%) abroad in 2019.

Kindzmarauli was the most in demand beverage among the Protected Appellation Wines last year. Georgia exported 17,418,683 bottles of Kindzmarauli in 2019.