At the session of the Parliament of Georgia, Agrarian Issues Committee Chair, Otar Danelia, highlighted the increased export of Georgian wine and stated:

“Georgian wine export to Poland increased by 20%, to Germany by 57% and to the USA by 68%. This amount of wine has not been exported in Georgia’s entire history. In total, more than 61 million bottles were exported.”

FactCheck

verified the accuracy of the statement.

According to the information

of National Wine Agency, 61 million bottles (0.75 litre) of wine were exported to 50 countries around the world between January and October 2017 which is 59% more as compared to the same period of the previous year. The total value of the wine exported in this period constitutes USD 134.6 million which is 52% more as compared to the same period of the previous year.

Export increased to the following countries between January and October 2017: China – 41% (6,086,733), Russia – 87% (38,355,125 bottles), Ukraine – 48% (6,237,652 bottles), Poland – 18% (2,151,342 bottles), Latvia – 31% (1,279,718 bottles), Belarus – 42% (1,318,852 bottles), USA – 68% (394,464 bottles), Germany – 57% (367,342 bottles), Israel – 149% (180,824 bottles), France – 187% (98,184 bottles), Azerbaijan – 76% (102,342 bottles) etc.

The top five wine importing countries are:  Russia (38,355,125 bottles – 63% of total exports), Ukraine (6,237,652 bottles – 10.2% of total exports), China (6,087,733 bottles – 9.9% of total exports), Kazakhstan (2,671,845 – 4.3% of total exports) and Poland (2,151,342 bottles – 3.5% of total exports).

Wine export in previous years is illustrated in the table below:

Table 1:

Wine Export in 2010-2017 (bottles)

Year	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2016 (Including October)	2017 (Including October)
Amount of Wine	15 Million	19 Million	23 Million	46 Million	59 Million	36 Million	50 Million	25 Million	61 Million

Source: National Wine Agency

Graph 1:

 Wine Export in 2007-2017 (USD Million)

Source: National Wine Agency

As illustrated by wine export statistics, wine export did indeed reach its historic maximum (61 million bottles) between January and October this year.

Russia still remains the largest export destination (63% of total exports in the first three quarters of 2017). In the last years, any increase or decrease in the amount of Georgian wine export has depended significantly on the Russian factor. This was true in 2013-2014 when wine export increased substantially as a result of Russia’s decision to revoke the ban on Georgian wine in June 2013. In 2014, 37,615,052 bottles of wine were exported to Russia which was 63% of total exports. In 2015, the Russian factor again caused a decrease in Georgian wine export (36 million bottles). Instability in Russia and Ukraine has also seriously impacted sales of Georgian wine. In 2015, wine export to Russia dropped by 51% and to Ukraine by 56% which resulted in a 39% decrease in total wine export.

Recent positive events see Georgian wine being exported to more and more countries each year with new markets being entered. However, more vigorous measures need to be taken to further popularise Georgian wine, especially now that the world’s oldest wine was discovered

in Georgia.

Conclusion

In January-October 2017, Georgia exported 61 million bottles of wine to 50 countries around the world which is 59% more as compared to the same period of the previous year. In this period, the income received from wine export reached USD 134.6 million which is 52% more as compared to the same period of the previous year.

In the last years, the highest figure of Georgian wine export was registered in 2014 (59 million bottles). In the first 10 months of 2017, the amount of wine export (61 million bottles) already exceeds this number. This year will indeed be a record year for Georgian wine export.

FactCheck concludes that Otar Danelia’s statement is TRUE.