Russia Bans Wine From Moldova and Georgia
Claiming inferior quality wine, Russia has banned all wine coming from Moldova or Georgia. This follows a ban on Meat and Dairy from Ukraine.
Russia’s chief public health official, Gennady Onishchenko, signed a letter on March 25 asking the head of the customs service not to allow wine from either country into Russia. Hundreds of railcars laden with bottles have been halted at the border, according to Moldovan Economy Minister Valery Lazar.
The officials have stated that the ban is in response to the pesticides that have been used on the grapes from Moldova. Moldova exports about 80% of its wine to Russia.
Read [Bloomberg.com]


May 1st, 2006 at 10:49 am
[…] These are tough times for Georgia and Moldova as Russia continues it’s ban on Wine and Sprits from the areas citing a high level of pesticides. The Georgians have sent out samples to independent researchers in France, Italy, and Switzerland for analysis of any harmful chemicals that may be found in the wine. Researchers in France have concluded that the wine is perfectly safe. But Russia is standing their ground, until Georgia can identify which wines are safe and which are not. According to [Russian chief sanitary doctor Gennady] Onishchenko, 50 percent of Georgian wines do not conform to norms….”We need a list of the companies which have been checked, in order to take measures.†[…]
May 1st, 2006 at 1:26 pm
[…] These are tough times for Georgia and Moldova as Russia continues it’s ban on Wine and Sprits from the areas citing a high level of pesticides. The Georgians have sent out samples to independent researchers in France, Italy, and Switzerland for analysis of any harmful chemicals that may be found in the wine. Researchers in France have concluded that the wine is perfectly safe. But Russia is standing their ground, until Georgia can identify which wines are safe and which are not. According to [Russian chief sanitary doctor Gennady] Onishchenko, 50 percent of Georgian wines do not conform to norms….”We need a list of the companies which have been checked, in order to take measures.†[…]
June 29th, 2007 at 10:41 am
[…] and agreed to lift the ban that had been placed on Moldova’s wine. This ban, which was imposed on March 25th, 2006, had a huge impact on the Moldovan wine industry, which relied on Russia for 60 - 80% of it’s […]