ArmInfo.The Vine and Wine Foundation of Armenia (VWFA), in cooperation with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and ACBA Federation, has created an online platform designed to promote the sales of Armenian wines in Europe. The official website of the platform is https://winesofarmenia.store/en/.
The English- and German-language versions are available now, with the Russian-language version to be launched next year, the RA Ministry of Economy reports. At present, the website contains information on 56 Armenian wines from 21 wine-makers. The wines were elected through blind tasting. Zaruhi Muradyan, VWFA Executive Director, said the website is unique as it contains complete information on Armenia`s wine-making heritage, grape varieties and Armenia`s wine-making regions. The News and Events section will constantly update the information on events and achievements of Armenia`s wine industry for consumers from the EU.
According to the report, the launching of www.winesofarmenia.store was followed by the opening of a logistic center and store of Armenian wines in Berlin, Germany. Armenian wines will be delivered to European consumers within days, at reasonable prices. The store will also facilitate the participation of Armenian wines in international exhibitions and tasting in the European Union (EU). A customer service center will enable clients to place orders by telephone and receive information. GIZ has been supporting Armenia`s wine industry for ten years.
Late in 2020, in an interview with ArmInfo, Ms Muradyan announced the plans to open a store of Armenian wines in Berlin, which would enable online sale of Armenian wines to European consumers.
"And now, without any mediation, consumers can get in touch with the producers and order Armenian wines in any European country," she said.
Orders for small batches of wines have been an obstacle to the export of Armenian wines over the last three years, as such orders have not yielded profits to producers. But the new store will enable shipments to Europe as general cargo, Ms Muradyan said.
According to the RA Statistical Committee, wine output totaled 9.3mln liters in Armenia by the end of this September, 40.8% growth this January-September against a 22.9% fall. In the first half of 2021, Armenia`s wine exports totaled 1.4mln liters - a 56.6% year-on-year increase (against a 30.6% decrease the previous year). The customs value of the exported wine reached $5.1mln (a 55.7% increase).
Russia remained a major market for export of Armenian wines (59% against 69% in the first half of 2020), followed by Ukraine (10.9%), the USA (0.5%), Kazakhstan (2%), Italy (1.7%), France (1.6%), Bulgaria (1.5%), Belgium (1.4%), Poland and Lithuania (0.9% each), Canada (0.7%). The other importers are China, Israel, Greece, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Australia, the UAE, Belarus, Germany, Latvia, Lebanon, Taiwan, Iceland.
