BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr. 10
By Fidan Babayeva - Trend:
The coronavirus pandemic has affected all areas and the winemaking industry is no exception, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Wine Producers and Exporters Association Elchin Madatov, told Trend on Apr. 10.
The chairman said that there has been a decline on sales of wine products in the domestic market since March 15.
“The decline in sales volume is tentatively about 40-50 percent. Some companies working mostly in the Hotel, Restaurant and Cafe (HoReCa) sector see a decline of 70 percent. Catering facilities have completely ceased their activities. Weddings and other celebrations, which is about 50 percent of the alcohol consumption market, are not held. Import of alcoholic beverages has significantly decreased,” Madatov said.
He noted that about 10-12 million bottles are sold annually within the country, that is, an average of 1 million bottles per month.
“Some enterprises, switching to the production of medical alcohol, and alcohol-disinfecting liquids, had retrained. However, this mainly applies to enterprises producing strong alcohol," said Madatov.
The chairman added that the suspension of the flow of tourists who were purchasing wine for drinking and as gifts also negatively affected the sales of local wines.
In 2019, a record grape harvest was collected in Azerbaijan, that is, a little more than 190,000 tons, which is almost 30 percent more compared to 2018, he added.
The main exporters of Azerbaijani wine products are Shaki, Jalilabad, Ganja and Goygol wineries, as well as a number of private companies engaged in the production of alcoholic beverages.
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