In January-February, Georgia exported almost 80% of all wine exports to the Russian Federation
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In the first two months of 2024, Georgia exported 13.2 million liters of wine to the Russian Federation, while its overall wine exports to all markets during the same period amounted to 16.7 million liters. This was reported by the Georgian Government Wine Agency.
The department notes that the growth over two months year-on-year was approximately 40% and a significant part of this growth was achieved precisely due to the growth of exports to Russia. Over the same two months, less than 800 thousand liters of Georgian wine were exported to Ukraine, which ranks second on the list.
The rapid growth of wine exports from Georgia to the Russian Federation (with an annual increase of 40–50%) began in 2022, when the EU imposed sanctions against Russia in connection with the start of the Northern Military District in Ukraine. On February 25, 2022, then Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili stated that his country “will not enter no sanctions against Russia,” since as a result Georgia “will only suffer itself.”
The Georgian government has been subsidizing grape production in the Kakheti wine region by almost 50% for about 10 years, fearing discontent among local winegrowers. But budget costs can be reduced largely due to the unprecedented growth in wine exports to the Russian Federation. In monetary terms, all Georgian wine exports for the first two months amounts to just over $35 million.
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