the following in his speech: “Wine export from Georgia has increased by 60%. Wine is exported to 44 countries. We have the biggest growth of wine export to China, France and Israel.”
FactCheckverified the accuracy of the statement.
According to the informationof the National Wine Agency of Georgia, a total of 45.3 million bottles of wine were exported between January and August 2017 which is 61% more as compared to the figure registered in the same period of the previous year. Of note is that the value of the exported wine reached USD 100.3 million. The income received from the export of wine increased by 55% as compared to the previous year.
As of the January-August data, the top five importers of Georgian wine are Russia, China, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Poland.
Table 1:
Georgian Wine Importer Country with Highest Registered Growth Rate (January-August 2017)
| Country | Quantity (Bottle) | Growth % |
| France | 95,530 | 378 |
| Israel | 139,994 | 232 |
| Azerbaijan | 102,342 | 170 |
| Russia | 28,493,063 | 94 |
| USA | 286,496 | 67 |
| China | 5,098,091 | 51 |
| Ukraine | 4,334,970 | 42 |
| Germany | 256,672 | 39 |
| Belarus | 904,070 | 35 |
| Latvia | 963,266 | 25 |
| Poland | 1,622,872 | 19 |
According to the data of the first eight months of 2017, wine export to France, Israel and Azerbaijan had the highest growth. Of importance is that China, which is a new market for Georgian wine and takes the second place in terms of the quantity of wine sold there, has again shown a high growth rate of 51%.
Conclusion
According to the information of the National Wine Agency of Georgia, a total of 45.3 million bottles of wine were exported from Georgia between January and August 2017 which is 61% more as compared to the figure registered in the same period of the previous year. The export of wine to China, France and Israel has increased by 51%, 378% and 232%, respectively.
Therefore, Archil Talakvadze’s statement is TRUE.
