ArmInfo. Armenian exporters of brandy and brandy spirit will be provided with state support. At a meeting on June 27, the RA government approved a program to assist exporters of brandy and brandy spirit.
As emphasized in the justification for the project, the government's decision is due to the need to provide support to exporters in order to reduce the risks associated with the liquidity of remaining brandy spirits, as well as to ensure the necessary conditions for organizing the procurement of grapes this year. According to the program, all exporters of brandy and brandy spirit will be paid an additional 100 drams for each liter of exported products until December 30, 2024.
In 2019, the project emphasizes, the export of brandy alcohol amounted to 14.5 million liters, after which, due to various factors, export volumes began to decline and during 2020-2022 they amounted to 17.1 million liters. Starting from the second half of 2023, export volumes have increased significantly and, according to operational data, export volumes in 2023 amounted to about 11.4 million liters. In 2020-2023, the volumes of brandy spirits produced from grapes purchased by organizations are estimated at approximately 50 million liters. Considering that brandy spirit must be sold after at least 3 years of aging, then in 2023 brandy spirits produced before 2019 and to some extent in 2020 should be sold in 2023. Thus, in 2020, the remains of alcoholic beverages produced from the grape harvest are estimated at approximately 30 million liters. On the other hand, today the average selling price of brandy alcohol on the market is about $4.5, and the cost of brandy alcohol produced from grapes purchased for 120 drams is about 1670 drams or $4.18 excluding expenses on loans raised from for the purpose of purchasing grapes.
The presented program is designed to solve the problem of brandy and brandy alcohol residues. In general, it is expected that if support is provided, about 7 million liters of brandy spirit will be exported, which will result in additional free capacity needed to purchase about 80 thousand tons of grapes in 2024, which is about 50% of the grapes harvested in 2023 . In addition, the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers will enable exporters to reduce the cost of exported products, present more competitively priced goods in sales markets, and increase sales volumes.
