David Songulashvili: “Total exports of wine and spirituous beverages reached USD 565 million, highlighting a diversified market.”
Verdict: FactCheck concludes that David Songulashvili’s statement is HALF TRUE.
Wine exports totalled USD 276 million whilst spirituous beverages accounted for USD 289 million in 2024. Combined exports saw a 24% increase, rising from USD 455 million in 2023 to USD 565 million in 2024.
Russia accounted for 66% of exported wine and 54% of exported spirits in 2024. This growing export dependence on Russia has been evident not just in 2024 but in previous years as well. In addition to export prices to Russia remaining below average, such reliance on a single country poses significant risks – risks that are particularly prominent in the case of Russia.
The Georgian Dream government has repeatedly announced plans to halt the vintage subsidy programme during their 12 years in power, yet it has never been fully discontinued. Alongside direct subsidies, state-owned companies continue to purchase damaged grapes for alcohol production which cannot be regarded as efficient policymaking.
Considering the correct data but inaccurately presented tendencies, FactCheck concludes that David Songulashvili’s statement is HALF TRUE.
Analysis
David Songulashvili, a member of the 10th Convocation Parliament from the Georgian Dream party, stated regarding the export of wine and alcoholic beverages: “As a result of the consistent policy pursued by the government, revenues from the export of wine and spirituous beverages have increased by 24% as compared to 2023.
It is particularly noteworthy that wine products are exported to 70 countries, highlighting a diversified market. Export growth is especially prominent in strategic markets for Georgian wine: the United States and European countries like Poland, Germany, Great Britain, etc. This further underscores that the government’s policy in the sector is both correct and consistent.”
Wine exports totalled USD 276 million whilst spirituous beverages accounted for USD 289 million in 2024. The share of domestic exports in wine exports exceeds 99%, with re-exports amounting to only USD 1.5 million. Furthermore, domestic exports of alcoholic beverages total USD 250 million whilst re-exports account for slightly over 13% at USD 29 million.
Record levels have been marked both in terms of total and domestic exports. Total exports (including re-exports) indeed amount to USD 565 million and a 24% rise has been market as compared to 2023. Wine exports have grown by 7% whilst exports of spirituous beverages have increased by 47% over the past year.
The second part of the statement addressed market diversification. Russia’s share in wine exports reached 66% in 2024, marking the highest level since the embargo was lifted.
Graph 1: Export of Wine (USD Million)
Source: National Statistics Office of Georgia
A total of USD 93 million worth of wine was exported to countries other than Russia which is USD 15 million less than in 2021 and only USD 3 million more than in 2019. However, a decrease as compared to 2019 becomes evident when accounting for the change in the purchasing power of the USD.
Moreover, David Songulashvili mentioned four specific countries: the US, Poland, Germany and Great Britain. Wine exports to these four countries grew by 18%, rising from USD 26.5 million to USD 31.4 million in 2024. The combined share of the aforementioned countries in total exports amounted to 11.4%. Despite exports to Great Britain increasing threefold form between 2019 and 2024, its share in total exports remains below 0.7% to this day.
Graph 2: Export of Wine (USD Million)
Source: National Statistics Office of Georgia
Russia also leads in the export of spirits similar to wine with its share surpassing the 50% mark for the first time in 2024 since the embargo was lifted. This dependence has increased by 20 percentage points at once.
Graph 3: Exports of Spirituous Beverages (USD Million)
Source: National Statistics Office of Georgia
The share of the four cited countries in the export of spirits is even smaller. A total of USD 4.2 million worth of alcoholic beverages were sold to the US, Great Britain, Germany and Poland in 2024, accounting for a mere 1.5% of total exports.
Graph 4: Export of Spirituous Beverages (USD Million)
Source: National Statistics Office of Georgia
David Songulashvili referred to these four countries as having a strategic direction and gave them special importance. Whilst Poland ranks second in the case of wine, the US ranks sixth, Germany ranks eighth and Great Britain ranks eleventh. For alcoholic beverages, the US ranks tenth, Poland ranks fifteenth, Germany ranks twenty-seventh and Great Britain ranks thirty-eighth. Notably Songulashvili did not mention Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, China, Armenia, Belarus or France – countries where the most wine and spirits were sold in 2024.
Graph 5: Export of Wine and Spirits in 2024 (USD Million)
Source: National Statistics Office of Georgia
David Songulashvili also claimed that wine is exported to 70 countries, which is formally accurate, as wine was exported to 72 countries in 2024, according to GeoStat. However, the USD 100,000 threshold was surpassed in only 40 of those countries with a combined total of just USD 877,000 worth of wine sold across the remaining 32 destinations.
High dependence on a single country is economically unjustified and risky. The political situation with Russia amplifies these risks. Beyond the possibility of Russia imposing another embargo, it also remains as one of the cheapest markets. The average export price of 1 litre of wine in Russia was USD 2.74 as compared to an average of USD 3.32 in other countries – 21% higher. However, the average export price of alcoholic beverages is USD 3.90 in both Russia and other destinations.
The former MP also underlined the “consistent policy pursued by the government,” attributing the increase in exports to the government’s efforts.
The Georgian Dream government has repeatedly announced plans to halt the vintage subsidy programme during their 12 years in power, yet it has never been fully discontinued.[1] Wineries receive annual funds from the state budget under the condition that they purchase specific varieties of grapes at predetermined prices. For example, if one kilogram of Rkatsiteli is purchased at GEL 0.60, a subsidy of GEL 0.30 per kilogram is added, bringing the final price to GEL 0.90. Furthermore, grapes that are not accepted by factories, even with the subsidy, are purchased by state-owned companies and are mainly used for spirit production. A total of GEL 766 million was spent on direct and indirect (grape purchases by state companies) subsidies for the harvest. Subsidies and forced purchases funded by taxpayers’ money cannot be regarded as an efficient policy.
Graph 6: Expenditure on Vintage Subsidies (USD Million)
Source: Administration of the Government
Overall, David Songulashvili was correct about the statistics. Whilst the export of wine and spirits has indeed increased by 24% to USD 565 million (including re-exports), the degree of market diversification has not increased; in fact, it has decreased. Russia’s share has grown in both cases, amplifying the associated risks due to the political situation. Additionally, endless subsidies cannot be regarded as a successful policy. Considering all the aforementioned factual circumstances and tendencies, FactCheck concludes that David Songulashvili’s statement is HALF TRUE.
[1] Whilst direct subsidies were discontinued during 2017-2020, state-owned companies continued to purchase grapes in this period.
