Armenia's Minister of Economy, Gevorg Papoyan, issued a statement regarding the situation surrounding Armenian brandy on the Russian market.
During a meeting of the parliamentary commission on regional issues and Eurasian integration on September 2, he reported that Armenia has not received any official complaints from Russia regarding the quality of exported brandy.
Papoyan emphasized that maintaining the reputation of the "Armenian brandy" brand is of utmost importance to the country. He stated that Armenia independently ensures the high quality of its products. The minister also reminded that all alcohol imported into Russia undergoes strict control by Rosalkogolnadzor, which serves as an additional guarantee of quality.
However, Papoyan did not rule out the possibility that counterfeit products might appear on the Russian market, where spirits from other countries are bottled and sold under the guise of Armenian brandy. To combat this issue and further strengthen the reputation of Armenian brandy, the country plans to establish a specialized laboratory.
This laboratory will test all export batches of brandy, verifying that grape-based spirits are used in their production.
"I will do everything to ensure that the spirit exported from Armenia is grape-based because this is not just a matter of export—it's a matter of the brand," the minister stated, underscoring the importance of this issue for the economy and the country's reputation.
This statement was made against the backdrop of media reports about possible concerns from the Russian side regarding the quality of Armenian brandy.
It was previously reported that Armenian producers sent brandy worth approximately 107.1 billion drams ($275 million) to Russia in 2023 and the first six months of 2024.
