2006 Russian ban of Moldovan and Georgian wines

none thumb|A Komsomolskaya Pravda poster reads in Russian: "Respect Yourself and the Motherland — DON'T DRINK Georgian Wine!" (May 5, 2006) The 2006 Russian import ban of Moldovan and Georgian wines began in late March 2006 and created a diplomatic conflict between the Republic of Moldova and Georgia on the one hand and Russia on the other. Wine trade with Russia was responsible for 80-90% of the total wine exports in both countries.BBC https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4860454.stm Russian wine move draws protests 2006-03-30 11 April 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20060409164432/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4860454.stm 9 April 2006 live The Chief Sanitary Inspector of Russia Gennadiy Onishchenko claimed that heavy metals and pesticides had been found in Georgian and Moldovan wines and that they were falsified alcoholic products labeled as wines. The Russian Consumer Agency claimed that it had examined 21 sorts of Georgian wine sold in Moscow and concluded that 85.7% did not comply with sanitary requirements. Pesticides were supposedly discovered in 60% samples of Moldovan and 44% samples of Georgian wine.Regnum В ходе последних проверок в Москве пестициды обнаружены в 60% молдавских и 44% грузинских вин However, the Moldovans claimed that no proof was provided by the Russians and that dozens of countries across the world imported Moldovan wines without any reported problems. Moldova argued that the ban amounted to economic blackmail.http://www.evz.ro/article.php?artid=255695 Evenimentul Zilei Moscova nu crede in vin 2008-04-07 11 April 2006 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20070312143339/http://www.evz.ro/article.php?artid=255695 12 March 2007 Seven Georgian wineries were later closed down after the government revision revealed that they had produced falsified wine.http://www.pravda.ru/news/economics/10-05-2006/83905-vino-0 В Грузии закрыты 7 заводов по производству поддельного вина - Экономика - Правда.Ру Pravda.ru 10 May 2006 2012-11-24http://gzt.ru/politics/2006/05/10/213603.html Похмелье алкогольной войны Политика ГАЗЕТА.GZT.ru gzt.ru https://web.archive.org/web/20060622124132/http://gzt.ru/politics/2006/05/10/213603.html June 22, 2006 In May 2006, Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili stated that "many [Georgian] wine producers exported falsified wine to Russia, because Russia is a market where you can sell even turds". https://web.archive.org/web/20060507165221/http://www.aif.ru/online/aif/1331/02_05 May 7, 2006 Okruashvili thought that Russia's decision to ban the import of Georgian wines "was not a surprise" for Tbilisi.https://www.rferl.org/a/1078815.html Georgia: The Ally Who Turned On Saakashvili rferl 2007-09-27 2013-02-14 Russia accounted for 80% of Georgian wine sales, and the ban was a major blow to the industry. Georgian producers swiftly admitted that wines were regularly faked. Prior to the ban, the Georgian government closed down several testing laboratories in Georgia, and several wineries were made to dump their product.http://courses.wcupa.edu/rbove/eco343/060compecon/Soviet/Georgia/060426grapes.txt West Chester University 2013-02-14 2016-03-05 https://web.archive.org/web/20160305100516/http://courses.wcupa.edu/rbove/eco343/060compecon/Soviet/Georgia/060426grapes.txt dead Seven Georgian wineries were closed down after the government revision revealed that they had produced falsified wine.http://www.pravda.ru/news/economics/10-05-2006/83905-vino-0 В Грузии закрыты 7 заводов по производству поддельного вина - Экономика - Правда.Ру Pravda.ru 10 May 2006 2012-11-24http://gzt.ru/politics/2006/05/10/213603.html Похмелье алкогольной войны Политика ГАЗЕТА.GZT.ru gzt.ru https://web.archive.org/web/20060622124132/http://gzt.ru/politics/2006/05/10/213603.html June 22, 2006 Production of falsified wine in Georgia for the rapidly expanding Russian market had been "big business for the last decade" according to the press.Parsons Robert https://www.rferl.org/a/1067641.html Georgia/Russia: Georgian Agriculture Minister In Moscow For Talks On Wine Ban Rferl.org 2006-04-13 2012-11-24 The ban on wine imports came at a time of worsening relations between the countries. The differences involved the Rose Revolution and pro-NATO/pro-EU moves in Georgia and a divergence of the Russian and Moldovan positions regarding the future of Transnistria. A year earlier, the Russian Duma had demanded a ban on Moldovan wine imports, because Moldova was considered to pursue anti-Russian policies.Pravda http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/89/357/15077_wine.html Russian law-makers to outlaw Moldavian wine 2005-03-09 11 April 2006 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20050528024803/http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/89/357/15077_wine.html 28 May 2005 EU's external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner stated that the EU was worried about what she called an "embargo" against Moldova, but the EU couldn't take any measures since Russia was not a member of the World Trade Organization.https://www.bbc.co.uk/romanian/news/story/2006/04/060411_moldova_rusia_ue.shtml BBC Romanian Premierul Tarlev reclamă Rusia la Uniunea Europeană 2006-04-11 11 April 2006 The president of NATO Parliamentary Assembly Pierre Lellouche also said that he was deeply concerned about the Russian ban on Georgian products.http://www.russianlife.net/article.cfm?Number=1626 RIA Novosti NATO official unhappy about Russian sanctions against Georgia 2006-05-05 7 May 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20060616111114/http://russianlife.net/article.cfm?Number=1626 16 June 2006 dead From 5 May to 6 May 2006, the Russian government also banned the import of Borjomi (ru Боржоми, ბორჯომი) and Nabeglavi (ru Набеглави, ნაბეღლავი), two popular brands of Georgian mineral water.http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L06703232.htm Reuters Foundation AlertNet Russia bans another Georgian mineral water brand 2006-05-06 6 May 2006 The government claimed that it was a health hazard since it failed to meet water purity standards. The Georgian government responded by stating that the action was an expansion of the wine embargohttps://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4976304.stm BBC News Russia bans Georgia mineral water 2006-05-05 5 May 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20060518175550/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4976304.stm 18 May 2006 live and a part of a political campaign to punish the country for pro-Western policies, a claim President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia reiterated at the Conference on Common Vision for Common Neighborhood held in Vilnius, Lithuania, from May 1 to 4, and attended also by the presidents of the three Baltic states, Poland, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria and the United States Vice-President Richard Cheney.http://jamestown.org/edm/article.php?article_id=2371055 Eurasia Daily Monitor Vilnius Conference on Europe's completion in the East 2006-05-05 6 May 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20060516101714/http://www.jamestown.org/edm/article.php?article_id=2371055 16 May 2006 dead Neither the Georgian or Moldovan wines nor the Borjomi or Nabeglavi mineral waters had been banned nor restricted in any other country besides Russia.November 2008 One Russian expert has also criticized the Russian ban on "Borjomi".https://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/russian/russia/newsid_4978000/4978550.stm BBC Russian Запрет "Боржоми" назван политическим решением 2006-05-05 8 May 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20060517055813/http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/russian/russia/newsid_4978000/4978550.stm 17 May 2006 live Georgia threatened to block Russia's bid to join World Trade Organization in response to the ban, with Russia requiring approval from Georgia, the United States and Moldova at this point to join WTO.UPI Georgia threatens to block Russian WTO bid 7 October 2006 https://www.upi.com/Business_News/2006/10/07/Georgia-threatens-to-block-Russian-WTO-bid/36571160226183/ The drink ban appeared to exacerbate tensions between Russia and the Government of Georgia. The 2008 South Ossetia war would occur later that year.24/11/2012+1°C http://themoscownews.com/business/20111006/189101210.html Turning blood into wine | BUSINESS The Moscow News 2012-11-24 https://web.archive.org/web/20120902010018/http://themoscownews.com/business/20111006/189101210.html 2012-09-02 dead Following the conflict, Georgia also withdrew from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a bloc of several post-Soviet countries.https://www.rferl.org/a/Georgia_Finalizes_Withdrawal_From_CIS/1802284.html Georgia Finalizes Withdrawal From CIS Radiofreeeurope/Radioliberty Rferl.org 2012-11-24 In 2013, Georgian wines were sold in over 50 countries, including Ukraine, which became the key market after the Russian ban. However, sales later fell sharply, to about one third of what Georgia exported prior to the ban.http://vz.ru/economy/2013/2/4/618877.html Дешевле, чем на Украине Return of Georgian wines to the Russian market In early 2013, negotiations between Russian and Georgian authorities and wineries were held in Moscow. Russia agreed to send inspectors to about 60 wine producing facilities in Georgia. According to an industry expert in the Georgian government, local wine products had a chance to return to the Russian market in 2013, and the country planned to grow wine production by 50% in 2015, almost reaching pre-ban levels. However, wine industry experts in Russia expected Georgian wines would enjoy limited interest in Russia, at about 1% market share, compared to 10% before the ban. The main reason is that the market became much more competitive since 2006, with many local, Western European, and South American wine brands, especially in the mid-price segment.http://vz.ru/economy/2013/2/4/618877.html Дешевле, чем на Украине The ban was lifted by the end of 2013.http://en.ria.ru/business/20131216/185616873/Georgia-Doubles-Wine-Exports-as-Russian-Market-Reopens.html RIA Novosti Georgia Doubles Wine Exports as Russian Market Reopens 16 December 2013 See also Milk War Moldovan wine 2013 Russian ban of Moldovan wines ro Embargoul rus asupra vinurilor din Republica Moldova (2013–2015) References Russian ban of Moldovan and Georgian wines Ban of wines Ban of wines Ban of wines Category:Georgia (country)–Russia relations Category:Moldova–Russia relations Category:History of wine Category:Russian wine Category:Georgian wine Category:Moldovan wine Russian Ban Of Moldovan And Georgian Wines, 2006 Category:Russo-Georgian War Category:Political scandals in Russia Category:Russian boycotts of countries