Armenia may require cognac exporters to undergo testing in European  laboratories by 2025

ArmInfo. The Armenian Ministry of Economy has not received any notification from its Russian colleagues  regarding the poor quality of Armenian cognac or any complaints from cognac producers about facing difficulties in exporting products to the Russian Federation.

This was stated Gevork Papoyan, head of the  department, during a briefing on August 22.  Earlier, TASS reported  that almost 90% of Armenian cognacs sold in Russian stores were  deemed unsafe, citing the research conducted by the international  association "Anticorafact" and the Union of Cognac, Alcohol and  Alcoholic Beverages Producers. The study involved purchasing 200  samples of cognac from over 20 brands produced by ten of the largest  Armenian producers. According to Papoyan, the authorities of the  Republic of Armenia, don't base their assessment of Armenian cognac  quality on  sales volume of this product in foreign markets,  including the Russian Federation. "Armenian cognac is a brand, and  within the framework of one of the EU programs efforts are being made  to strengthen the Armenian brand," he said.

"Unfortunately, Armenia has not had an "isotope laboratory" so far,  he said. If the country fails to fill this gap, by 2025 a mandatory  requirement will be established for exporters to undergo examination  of Armenian cognac in a similar European laboratory," said the head  of the Ministry of Economy.  He noted that all cognac produced in the  Republic of Armenia undergoes examination in Russian laboratories and   the Armenian side will discuss any problem with the Russian side only  after receiving official notification.  When asked if Armenian  products have quality issues, Papoyan said: "I don't believe so." "A  country that consistently moves towards quality standardization and  economic diversification must have robust laboratory capabilities. To  that end, we plan to invest in the latest laboratory equipment worth  1 billion drams by 2024. These programs will be ongoing. We also  assist the private sector in obtaining quality certificates if  necessary," said Gevorg Papoyan.