Irakli Uglava, founder of company "Askaneli" predicts that the growth of tax duty on imported wine by the Russian government might increase demand on Georgian wine.
According to him, Russia increased the excise tax on Georgian wine by 300%, while the growth was 2 or 3 times more in the case of European countries, which caused a price surge on European wine.
"The excise tax has not changed only on Georgian wine. In general, Russia has tripled the excise duty, from 34 rubles to 108 rubles. The price of wine on the shelf will increase. European wine has become very expensive, so those products are replaced by more affordable wines, such as Georgian wine," says the head of "Askaneli".
According to him, the fact that the price of Georgian wine will increase on the shelf will not bring anything to the Georgian wine industry, because the excise tax is a sum that goes entirely to the Russian budget.
The Russian government has increased the excise tax on imported wine 3 times since May 1. As a result, according to Geostat, in May the income received from the wine exports to Russia also decreased. If in April the country received USD 34 million 529 thousand, in May this number decreased to USD 4 million 990 thousand.
