| Georgian Defense Minister went to earn the post of Prime Minister Yesterday, 33-year-old Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili went to Ukraine with a special assignment from his commander-in-chief. 38-year-old President Mikheil Saakashvili, during his visit to China in the first half of April, stated that he entrusts the head of the military department with the task of winning new markets for Georgian wine within three months. Georgians had problems with this after Russia at the end of March banned the supply of Georgian and Moldovan wines as low-quality and not meeting sanitary standards.
At the end of this week in Donetsk, the Georgian Defense Minister will take part in the Georgian-Ukrainian economic forum, where the problems of supplying Georgian wines will be discussed. Tbilisi politicians say that if the advertising campaign in Ukraine and other countries is successful under the slogan “Buy excellent Georgian wine, banned in Russia,” Irakli Okruashvili can count on the post of prime minister in the future.
The “wine offensive” will continue in Poland, the Baltic countries, Holland, Great Britain, Canada and the USA. Let us remind you that the ban on the supply of wines from Moldova and Georgia to Russia has been in effect since March 27. Chief State Sanitary Doctor of Russia Gennady Onishchenko said that heavy metals and pesticides were found in Georgian and Moldovan wines. Speaking at a press conference in Moscow yesterday, he called the current situation with the sale of Georgian wines in our country “hopeless.”
“Russia’s accusations that all Georgian wine is substandard is open political pressure on Georgia, the price for its freedom, which must be paid,” Irakli Okruashvili responded to this. The Defense Minister is skeptical about the prospects for the return of Georgian wine to Russia. The winemakers themselves only dream about this, as they admit that there is no worthy replacement for the Russian market.
A representative of the GWS company, Georgiy Simonishvili, in an interview with the Tbilisi magazine “Rating”, said that this company exports wine to 17 countries, but 65% of the total export volume goes to Russia. In 2005 this amounted to 4 million bottles. According to him, “if you look at things realistically, we must admit that it is impossible to replace the Russian market. The best way out is to come to an agreement and continue cooperation.” The head of the Georgian Ministry of Agriculture, Mikheil Svimonishvili, said that “Georgian wine will definitely return to Russia.”
President of the Union of Wine Producers of Georgia Levan Koberidze told Vremya Novostei that a delegation of Georgian winemakers will go to Moscow at the end of April. “We will actively work, in particular with the Union of Participants in the Russian Alcohol Market, to convince us to lift the embargo,” said Mr. Koberidze. — I think that our wine will be able to return to Russia at the beginning of July. Why this particular period? I will refrain from clarifying for now. There is such a feeling."
The Georgian authorities stated that they do not intend, under the guise of an “adequate response,” to ban the import of food products from Russia, which are extremely popular in Georgian markets. In 2005, food, other goods and energy resources totaling $400 million were imported from Russia to Georgia.
Following Georgian and Moldovan alcohol, wines from other producers are beginning to fall into disgrace with Rospotrebnadzor . Yesterday, the press service of the capital's territorial administration of this federal service stated that during mass inspections, samples of alcoholic beverages from Chile, Argentina, Bulgaria, Spain, Ukraine and Russia were also examined. “A number of selected samples did not meet the requirements of the standards for organoleptic, physicochemical and toxicological indicators,” noted Rospotrebnadzor. As ITAR-TASS reported, the rejected wines included the Argentine Ignea Shiraz - Cabernet Sauvignon, Chateau Del Vale, and the Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon Puerto Viejo 2003 and Chardonnay Toro de Piedra. In addition, samples of wines from the Moscow Inter-Republican Winery, the companies "Cornet", "Stavropolets" and "Vinomir" were studied.
In addition, according to Interfax, in less than a month - from March 21 to April 18 - the sale of almost 124 thousand liters of Georgian and Moldavian alcohol and almost 11 thousand liters of alcohol from other producers was suspended for various reasons. The massive inspection affected 480 enterprises associated with the production and resale of alcohol. The press service of Rospotrebnadzor noted that out of 1,186 samples of alcohol that passed laboratory tests, more than half did not meet hygienic standards - 52%. Of the 319 samples of Georgian alcohol, 60.8% were considered unsatisfactory; 32 samples contained pesticides. 247 out of 496 samples taken of Moldovan alcoholic beverages (49.7%) were not tested; pesticides were found in 70 samples (28%). Mikhail VIGNANSKY, Tbilisi |
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