Azernews.Az

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Uzbekistan is the most important producer of grapes and wine products in Central Asia at present.

The geographical location, favorable climatic conditions and a large area of fertile irrigated land stimulated the development of the wine industry and viticulture in Uzbekistan.

The history of winemaking in Uzbekistan has centuries-old traditions. Wine production in the territory of modern Uzbekistan began in ancient times, even in the pre-Islamic period. At the time, Zoroastrianism, one of the oldest religions in which wine played a big role, was spread among the peoples of Central Asia.

Recently, additional impetus was given to the devellopment of wine-making in Uzbekistan.

Seedlings of such varieties of grapes as "Cabernet", "Sauvignon blanc" and "Chardonnay" were delivered to France from Uzbekistan.

The director of the Yangikurgan Sharob winery in the city of Namangan, Mashrab Maksumov, said that after the visit of President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyayev to France, a lot of work was carried out to modernize the wine industry.

"In our country, the wine industry has experienced stagnation. Because the vineyards were destroyed. If the grapes brought from France and intended mainly for the preparation of dry wine will produce fruit, then not only our plant will work, but also other wineries in Uzbekistan,” he said.

At present, laboratories of the Ministry of Innovation Development, Uzbeksharobholding, JSC Uzsharobsanoat and the Academy of Sciences are actively working on the development of technologies for the production of high-quality French wines.

This year, 30 billion soums were allocated from the state budget for the development of the wine industry of the republic. In addition, a separate amount was allocated for the modernization of 62 wineries in Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan occupies one of the leading places in the post-Soviet space in terms of alcohol production.

Last year Uzbekistan produced 20.7 million liters of grape wine (an increase of 0.7 percent), 63.6 million liters of vodka and liquor products (1.4 percent), 789,500 liters of cognac (4.6 percent ) and 70.9 million liters of food alcohol (3.9 percent).

Presently, 43 varieties of grapes are grown in the republic, including 17 wine varieties. Today, grape plantations occupy an area of more than 140,000 hectares, of which 45,000 hectares accounted for wine grapes.

The main export markets for Uzbek wine are Russia and Kazakhstan, which jointly occupy about 80-90 percent of all exports. Uzbek wines are also exported to Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan, while pilot shipments have been carried out to the U.S., China, Japan, Latvia, Israel and other countries during the past two years.

From January 1, 2019, licensing of activities for the production of natural grape wines produced from the raw materials of their own grape plantations is abolished, with such wines being classified as agricultural products. Restrictions on advertising of wine products will be revised.

The country will conduct an inventory of vineyards, following which a program for the development of the wine industry for 2018–2023 will be prepared.

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