Volodin announced the positive impact of sanctions on winemaking in Russia

The introduction of sanctions had a positive impact on Russian winemaking; the restrictions boomeranged on the economy of the European Union, stated Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin in his Telegram channel.

The State Duma speaker recalled that from August 1, Russia has increased protective customs duties against the import of wines from unfriendly countries. A month later, the result “was not long in coming”: according to him, France and the EU are forced to allocate 200 million euros from the budget for the destruction of wines and cutting down vineyards, since the products have become unclaimed.

“The French and European authorities punished themselves. But it’s their choice. They had all the opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation, but they preferred illegal sanctions against Russia, which boomeranged on the economy of France and other EU countries,” Volodin wrote.

In Russia, the Chairman of Parliament believes, the situation is the opposite: all this has had a positive effect on Russian viticulture and winemaking. According to him, grape harvest in the country increased by 18%, wine production by 8%.

The share of domestic wine in stores and restaurants reached 58.3% – Volodin noted that this is 2.5 times more than before the law on the development of viticulture and winemaking, adopted in 2020, came into force. For Russia, sanctions have become “an opportunity for development, building work in a new way, achieving results and, of course, ensuring the supply of high-quality domestic products to the market,” the State Duma speaker emphasized.

At the end of July the government increased duties on the import of wine from unfriendly countries from 12.5 to 20% (but not less than $1.5 per liter). As the Ministry of Energy noted then, this measure is in response to actions towards Russia by such states. The duties came into force on August 1.

In July, the Ministry of Economy reported that the wine market, after increasing duties, will be saturated with domestic producers and imports from friendly and neutral countries. Imports of still wines from Chile in 2022 increased in value terms by 9%, from Armenia – by 161%, the ministry noted. Demand for South African wines has also increased. Currently, the list of unfriendly countries includes 49 states.