Azerbaijan may increase wine exports to Russia
By Kamila Aliyeva
Azerbaijan may export wine to St. Petersburg in the near future, Head of the Wine Exporters' and Producers' Association of Azerbaijan Elchin Madatov said.
The country established contact with the company from St. Petersburg, which is interested in Azerbaijani wine products, Trend reported citing Madatov.
The negotiations on export will begin in April.
Madatov further stressed that wine exports in the first quarter of 2017 will be higher than in the same period of the 2016.
"Since early 2017, the number of orders has increased as compared to the last year," he stated.
Currently, the main export markets for Azerbaijani wine are Russia and China, according to the association. The work is underway on expanding the map of wine export.
“We supply wine to Belarus and Lithuania and plan to launch wine export to other European, African and North American markets as well,” Madatov explained.
Azerbaijani wines are sold under “Made in Azerbaijan” brand.
Wine-making has switched to the new level of development in Azerbaijan due to programs implemented in the country aimed at expansion of non-oil sector.
Azerbaijan became a member of the International Organisation of Vine and Wine in June 2014. The country has focused since then on the development of vines and wineries as important contributors to the economy and agriculture.
Today, Azerbaijan produces 20 million bottles of wine per year, while the annual production capacity of the country’s wineries is 100 million bottles.
Recently, the country launched wine export to new markets such as China, Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, the U.S. and some European countries.
Overall, the wine export of Azerbaijan hit $3.5 million in 2016.
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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva
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