Greek wines have the opportunity to expand their share on the Russian market following bans on wine imports from Georgia and Moldova, an agriculture minister said Monday, RIA Novosty reports.
Russia banned wines from Georgia and Moldova in March, which had accounted for over 50% of the market, on health and safety grounds.

“Since well-known producers of poor-quality wines have left the Russian market, Greece has gained some advantages,” Alexei Gordeyev told a news conference on the sidelines of the first presentation of Greek wines and food products in Moscow.

He said it was difficult to forecast the share of Greek wines on the Russian market, as this will depend on Greek producers, who have been traditionally oriented to the domestic market.

“We welcome Greek products,” he said, adding that famously high-quality Greek wines, olive oil and other farm products would be welcome on the rapidly expanding Russian market.

Greek Minister of Rural Development and Foods Evangelos Basiakos said his country was ready to increase agricultural supplies, including wine, to Russia.

“We would like to raise wine imports, but not at the expense of Russian vodka,” he joked.

Basiakos also said that Russia had become the seventh largest importer of Greek wines after Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov visited Greece in October.

Panagiotis Drosos, managing director of the Hellenic Foreign Trade Board, echoed the minister, saying that Russia was a priority market for Greece, and that the government would seek to promote Greek wines in the country over the next two years.

From September 2007, he said, Russian journalists will be invited to see the wine-making process in Greece.

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