ArmInfo.This January-October saw a double-digit growth in the output of alcoholic beverages, except for a fall in champagne output, in Armenia, the RA Statistical Committee reports.
During the period under review, the cognac output totaled 36.2mln liters - a 22.2% growth as compared with the corresponding period of last year. Wine output totaled 10.3mln liters - a 31% growth. However, champagne output decreased by 1.7%, down to 517.6 thousand liters. The output of vodka, liquor and other alcoholic beverages totaled 4.5mln liters - a 37.6% growth. Beer output totaled 25.3mln liters - a 22.2% growth. Whiskey output totaled 606,300 liters - a 2.3-fold growth.
According to the RA Customs Service, in the first half of 2021, Armenia`s exports of wine totaled 1.4mln liters - a 56.6% year-on-year growth (against a 30.6% decline in the first half of 2020). The customs value of the exported wine reached $5.1mln - a 55.7% rise. Russia is a traditional importer of Armenian wines, with its 59% share in Armenia`s wine exports (against 69.8% in the first half of last year), followed by Ukraine and the USA (10%-11%). The other importers of Armenian wines are Kazakhstan, Italy, France, Bulgaria, Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, Canada, China, Israel, Greece, Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Belarrrus, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Taiwan, Iceland.
Armenia`s beer exports totaled 699,400 liters in the first half of 2021 - a 72.1% growth (against a 56.7% decline last year), with a 2-fold rise in the customs value up to $672,900. Russia is the major importer of Armenian beers, with its share increasing from 64.6% in the first half of 2020 to 74.7% in the first half of 2021. The other importers of Armenian beers are the USA (8.1%), France (5.4%), China (2.8%), Belgium (2.7%), as well as Iraq, Uruguay, Georgia, Argentina, Latvia, Poland, Lithuania, and UAE. In the first half of this year, Armenia increased its exports of ethyl alcohol (up to 80% strong) by 22.9%, up to 12.2mln liters, including alcoholic tinctures, liquors, and other alcoholic beverages, against a 22.7% decrease in the first half of last year. The customs value of the products totaled $95.1mln - a 14.6% year-on-year increase.
Russia`s share in Armenia `s ethyl alcohol exports is 85.9%, with the rest exported to Ukraine, Belarus, Iraq, Georgia, and the USA. No data on Armenian cognac exports are available.