2006 Russian ban of Moldovan and Georgian wines

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 is responsible for 80-90% of the total wine exports in both countries.

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 discovered in 60% samples of Moldovan and 44% samples of Georgian wine. 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. Seven Georgian wineries were later closed down after the government revision revealed that they had produced falsified wine.

In May 2005, 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". Okruashvili thought that Russia’s decision to ban the import of Georgian wines "was not a surprise" for Tbilisi.

Russia accounted for 80% of Georgian wine sales, and the ban became a "big 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. Seven Georgian wineries were closed down after the government revision revealed that they had produced falsified wine. Production of falsified wine in Georgia for the rapidly expanding Russian market had been "big business for the last decade" according to the Western press.

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.

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Wikipedia