| Page 2 of 2 < |
Russia Uncorks Another Trade Dispute
Nana Mageladze arranges a display at a wine shop in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital. Until a ban last month, wine sent to Russia accounted for 9 percent of all exports from the Black Sea country. Russia said the ban, which also covered Moldova, was because of contamination, but others saw a political motive.
(By Shakh Aivazov -- Associated Press)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
In any case, it was a devastating decision for both countries. Russia buys more than 80 percent of all exported Georgian wine, or 9 percent of all exports from the Black Sea country. To Moldova, the trade accounts for nearly 75 percent of total wine exports and 19 percent of all exports.
"Of course we are going to suffer losses, but it's also clear we have to reorient our exports," Valery Lazar, Moldova's economy and trade minister, said in a phone interview from the capital, Chisinau.
Moldovan officials flew to Moscow on March 28, but were forced to cool their heels for a week, the minister said. "They finally met some officials" on Tuesday, Lazar continued, "but the Russian side failed to produce any concrete results. And they can't. The quality of our wine is excellent."
Lazar said he suspects that another factor in the ban may be business figures who for their own interests "are trying to discredit the quality of Moldovan wine."
Kakhetian Traditional Winemaking, a company that owns vineyards in southern Georgia and produces 1 million bottles of wine annually, has lost 70 percent of its sales. "Our business has stopped," Natalia Yanchuk, the company's marketing director, said in a telephone interview. "The situation must be solved."
At the warehouse of Group Dionis on the edge of Moscow, 3 million bottles of wine are gathering dust. The company, which has nearly 1,000 employees in Russia, Georgia and Moldova, has begun laying off workers. The Russian National Alcohol Association estimates potential losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
"I don't want to talk about politics, but it's clear this action is punishing Russians," said Sergei Dyuzhinov, development director for Dionis, one of Russia's largest wine importers.
Many Georgian restaurants dot the Russian capital, and managers said they had enough Georgian wine in their cellars for their customers, even if serving it now appears to be illegal. They are dreading a protracted blockade.
"In a month," said Iveri Dzhikiya, manager of the Tiflis restaurant in Moscow, "I may have to serve French wine."
