Member of the State Duma Budget and Tax Committee Vladimir Dvorkovich
Photo: Valery Levitin
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Wine Gets Equal Rights with Beer
The United Russia Party has introduced a law into the State Duma to exempt imported wines from the EGIAS system (“unified state automated information system for accounting of the volume of production of ethyl alcohol and alcoholic and alcohol-containing products”). Importers say that the move will allow a larger volume of wine to be imported from more areas. It could also lead to a boom in wine counterfeiting. Eighty-five percent of the wine drunk in Russia is imported.
The draft law “On State Regulation of the Production and Sales of Table Wine” was introduced on Tuesday. The law eases control over the production and import of wine, in comparison with stronger beverages and exempts wine with alcohol content up to 15 percent from the requirements of the EGIAS system.
According to the Alcohol Market participants Union, 230 million liters of wine were imported into Russia in 2004, and 277 million liters in 2005. In 2006, the EGIAS system was introduced and Moldovan wines were banned in Russia, and the volume of imports fell to 199 million liters. From January to July of this year, 105 million liters were imported, compared to 129 million liters in the same period of 2004.
The draft law mainly touches on domestic wine production, creating a regional licensing system and classification system. Controls over imports are relaxed. One of the bills authors, Elena Pankina, said that import controls would be increased in the bill's second reading, however. The government has not officially commented on the law, but an anonymous source said that the government considers it “the right idea,” but dislikes the creation of varying rules different parts of the alcoholic beverage industry.
Wine importers hail the reduction of bureaucracy in their work, but express concern as well. “The volume of wine imports will not change, but now Russian enterprises will begin counterfeiting French wine,” Mikhail Albu, general director of the La Vinci Co., predicted. At least 30 percent of the Russian wine market is already made up of counterfeits.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 30, 2007
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