BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 20
By Fidan Babayeva – Trend:
Azerbaijan Wine Producers and Exporters Association is negotiating with Israel on export of local wines, Chairman of the association Elchin Madatov told Trend.
Madatov said that Azerbaijani wines are most in demand in the post-Soviet market including Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. In addition, Azerbaijani wines are exported to China, countries of Central Asia, the Baltic States, Poland, Germany and the Netherlands.
“The issue of expanding geography and increasing export volume is still on the agenda. The main directions are surely the countries of Asia and Eastern Europe,” the chairman noted.
“The volume of wine production decreased in 2019 compared to 2018 and amounted to more than 500,000 decaliters. Despite this, a record volume of more than 190,000 tons of grapes was collected in Azerbaijan in 2019, which is 30 percent more compared to 2018. It is planned to transfer this growth to wine production, as Azerbaijan already has a decent raw material base,” Madatov added.
The chairman added that sales of goods in the domestic market are carried via both wholesale and retail trade, as well as to HoReCa company.
The main exporters of Azerbaijani wine products are Shaki, Jalilabad, Ganja and Goygol wineries alongside with a number of private companies involved in the production of alcoholic products.
