Tag Archives: drinks

Georgia looks to boost wine sales to China

TBILISI, JULY 27 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Georgia’s wine marketing chiefs are looking to reduce their export over-dependence on Russia and boost sales to China.

Having cemented its status and influence in Central Asia over the past decade, China has pushed harder for a stronger foothold in the South Caucasus. In the last few years it has opened up cultural centres, sent senior officials on trade and diplomatic visits and given out soft loans.

Now China also appears to be sponsoring an education and advertising drive to encourage consumers to buy products from the region, including that most iconic of Georgian products — wine.

In an interview with The Conway Bulletin, Irakli Cholobargia, the head of marketing at the Georgian National Wine Agency, said that China had built shops dedicated to selling Georgian wine.

“Wine consumption in China is growing and Georgian wine is an extremely attractive product on Chinese market because of its ancient origins and old traditions,” he said.

“There are businessmen who started to open big wine houses wholly dedicated to Georgian wines. This is a completely different approach to the wine business. Nowhere else is there this kind of approach.”

And the figures back up this trend. China has now become Georgia’s third biggest export market after a 148% increase in sales during the first half of the year.

Georgia is likely to sign a free trade agreement with China later this year, again boosting trade between the two countries.

All this, Mr Cholobargia said, was helping his strategy of reducing the Georgian wine industry’s reliance on Russia. Russia stopped a number of products being imported from Georgia in 2006, including wine, when relations between the two countries fell apart, leading to a brief war in 2008. In 2013, the trade embargo was relaxed.

“The Russian market is not a stable market. Before the embargo in 2006, 80% of our export went to Russia,” Mr Cholobargia. “When it opened up in 2013, we had 65% of total export to Russia. Now it is about 50%. Our goal is to keep shrinking this, and maybe get to the 30%.”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 291, published on Aug. 1 2016)

Armenia to discuss Chinese drinks market

MAY 16 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Armenian ministry of agriculture sent a delegation to China to discuss a trade agreement aimed at opening the potentially lucrative Chinese market to alcoholic drinks from Armenia. Armenian wine exports tripled in volume between 2008 and 2014 and Armenian brandy is revered in the FSU. Last year, in a reflection of the current economic downturn, volumes fell by 31.5%.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 281, published on May 20 2016)

Georgian wine exports grow

MAY 11 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia exported 11.6m bottles of wine in 2015, an increase of 45% from 2014, its national wine agency said. Total revenues earned from wines increased by 15% to $26.9m. Wine is an important export for Georgia. It has been heavily marketing its wine and its status as one of the original wine-making countries. Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan are the biggest markets for Georgian wine.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 280, published on May 13 2016)

Georgian wine exports increase

MARCH 7 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Imports of Georgian wine to Russia more than doubled in the first two months of the years compared to the same period in 2015, Georgia’s national wine agency reported. Wine is both an important export for Georgia and also an important cultural identifier. Russia recently lifted a ban on the import of Georgian wine.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 271, published on March 11 2016)

Armenian Coca Cola disagrees with state comission

MARCH 4 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Coca Cola Hellenic Bottling, the Armenian distributor of soft drinks, said it disagreed with the State Commission for Protection of Economic Competition which imposed a 50m dram ($102,000) fine on it for unfair competition last week. Coca Cola Hellenic said it will challenge the fine in court.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 271, published on March 11 2016)

Armenia fines Coca Cola

FEB. 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – An Armenian government agency slapped a 50m dram ($102,000) fine on Coca Cola Hellenic Bottling Armenia for unfair competition. Armenia’s State Commission for Protection of Economic Competition found Coca Cola Hellenic guilty of “creating barriers to entry of competitors into the market.”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)

Inver House looks to grow in Kazakhstan

JAN. 25 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Scottish distiller Inver House, which produces a range of alcoholic drinks from whisky to gin to beer, said it would target Kazakhstan, among other countries, after a 20% increase in production following a £10m ($14.3m) investment in its manufacturing site in Scotland.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 265, published on Jan. 29 2016)

Yerevan Jur to improve water supplies in Armenia

JAN. 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Yerevan Jur, a French company managing the water network in Armenia’s capital, said it has launched a new $21.6m programme to improve water supplies. Veolia, a French utilities company listed in New York and Paris, established Yerevan Jur in 2006. International lenders, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, will finance the water network project.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 264, published on Jan. 22 2016)

Georgian GT Group to import wine- making kit

JAN. 11 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — GT Group, a Georgian automotive holding company, launched a new company, GT Enology, to import wine-making equipment, local media reported. The company will buy machinery in France and Italy to service several wine-making companies in Georgia. GT Group is a major importer of lubricants and specialised vehicles in the country and is ranked as one of the largest taxpayers.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 263, published on Jan. 15 2016)

Georgia’s wine exports fall

JAN. 5 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia exported 39% less wine in 2015 than it did in 2014 because of a worsening recession in Russia and a protected civil war in Ukraine. In a press release, Georgia’s National Wine Agency said that wine exports to China had increased by 22% to 2.7m bottles but that sales to Russia had fallen by 51% to 18.3m bottles and to Ukraine by 56% to 3.4m bottles.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 262, published on Jan. 8 2016)