There are no political obstacles to the return of Georgian wines and “Borjomi” mineral water to the Russian market, and it all depends on the quality of the Georgian product, said Grigory Karasin, Russian State Secretary and Deputy Foreign Minister, News Georgia reports.
The deputy minister said that Georgian companies had requested permission to sell products on the Russian market. Gennady Onishenko, Russian Chief Sanitary Inspector, was studying documents handed from Georgian manufacturers of wine and mineral water, Karasin said.
Georgia says that the ban on embargo of Georgian wine exports to Russia brought millions of dollars of income. Georgian Prime Minister Nika Gilauri said in 2011 that about 40 million bottles had been sold before imposition of the embargo, giving income of $40-45 million or a maximum of $50 million. Exports of 14-15 million bottles of wine at international markets had given income of $60 million, the prime minister said.
Wine exports in 2011 exceeded 18 million bottles. Over 20 million are planned for exports in 2012. Gilauri noted that perhaps they should thank Onishenko for banning their wines on behalf of Georgian wine-makers and consumers for helping diversify exports and improve quality.
