Azernews.Az

By Sabina Idayatova

One of the main steps toward warming the strained relations between Georgia and Russia is considered to be export of goods from Georgia to the market of its giant northern neighbor.

Upon return to the Russian market, wine products from the South Caucasus republic are not expected to take the same position as the best-selling goods but steady demand for Georgian wines is guaranteed, said those polled by the Prime agency experts.

"Russia and Georgia are ready to move on to the practical solution on the issue of returning the Georgian wine to the Russian market," Russian First Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Denisov has said.

"The point is in Georgian winemaking regaining its position in our market. At least, there is willingness on both sides for a practical study of the issue," he stressed.

A complete ban on the import of Georgian wine to Russia was introduced in 2006. The decision was officially explained by concerns over the quality of Georgian products, but it is reportedly believed in Tbilisi that the decision taken by Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian federal agency in charge of customer protection, was political.

Head of the Rospotrebnadzor Gennady Onishchenko does not rule out that Georgian wine may re-appear in the Russian market soon. Onishchenko considers the possibility of control over product quality as the main condition for resumption of supplies.

"If we are allowed to visit their premises, it may well be possible to return [Georgian] wine to our country," he said on Friday. "Why not? They are welcome, let's trade. And there won`t be any reckless and uncontrolled volume [of the product], as before," he added.

"Eight Georgian companies that could potentially be eligible for supply of wine and sparkling water to Russia have applied to Rospotrebnadzor," Onishchenko said.

He said the eight companies had applied to the Federal Service in time, their documents have been studied and now the Russian experts have to visit the area for inspection of the production process.

According to Onishchenko, the Georgian companies must pass a formal procedure for their admission to the Russian market.

"What we want to do is our condition now - to be in contact with the entities, inspecting the quality of wine in Georgia on the nationwide level," Onishchenko told Interfax news agency.

Georgia's new Agriculture Minister David Kirvalidze said in October that the Georgian side is ready to allow Russian experts to study the quality of wine production.

The head of the Research Center for Federal and Regional Alcohol Markets, Vadim Drobiz, has commented on the return process of Georgian wines to Russia, BBC Russian Service reports.

"Documents confirming to which extent Georgian winemakers achieved qualitative breakthrough and the corresponding samples of wine are to be sent to Russia," Drobiz said. "All of them are being verified in Russia. Then Russian experts go to the factories, visit vineyards, review the labs, come back and make a decision on approval of produce of a certain group of factories," the expert said.

The Georgian government in turn promised to provide all the necessary conditions for such testing.

Drobiz noted that Georgian wine is awaited by middle-aged and older people. According to him, Georgian wine is a very interesting and unique product consumers were used to in the Soviet times.

According to the expert, in 2005, the supply of Georgian wine to Russia was about 60 million bottles. A few years after the resumption of exports, the figure is unlikely to exceed 10 million bottles. However, the measure will help to increase export that fell after losing of the Russian market, to which Georgia was exporting 80 percent of its wine products.

Currently, Georgian wine is exported to 48 countries. Even last year Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili noted that due to the embargo enforced in 2006, the quality of Georgian wines improved and Georgia gained other markets all over the world.

Former Georgian Prime Minister Nika Gilauri said last year that the Russian market was "unreliable." He said that prior to the Russian embargo Georgia exported wine worth $40 million, and this year, without the Russian market the figure was $70 million, he said.

Georgia's new Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili has said he was trying to return Georgian products to Russian market soon.

"I think that Russia is not satisfied with these relations, and if we attempt to restore trade and cultural relations without pre-conditions, I hope that we will achieve results," Ivanishvili said.

The head of the Center for the Development of National Alcohol Policy Pavel Shapkin said that prospects for sale of Georgian wines in the Russian market are high.

According to Shapkin, Georgia is unlikely to deliver low-quality drinks and charge a high price at first, so gaining customers will not be a difficult task for its producers.

Meanwhile, unlike wines, Georgian mineral water company IDS Borjomi does not plan resumption of its product sales in the Russian market.

"The question of the supply of "Borjomi" [sparkling water] to Russia is not being considered, and there are no further plans yet," the press-service of the company told RIA Novosti news agency on Thursday.

The embargo on "Borjomi" and Georgian wines in Russia has been in effect since 2006. Until then Russia was one of the principal markets for those products. Launching the normalization of relations with Russia was one of the campaign promises of Bidzina Ivanishvili before the October 1 parliamentary elections in Georgia, which were won by his opposition coalition and followed by the formation of a new cabinet in which Ivanishvili now serves as prime minister.