Moldovan Wines Not Welcome in Russia
Travel News — By Candice Walsh on August 25, 2010 at 10:30 amFor the second time in the past five years, Russia has banned imports of wines from Moldova because of health risks, with reports of more than 90 batches not meeting hygiene standards. One health official said, “It should be used to paint fences.”
This is bad news for Moldova, considering Russia purchases 80% of their wine production and about one-quarter of the Moldovan population work in the wine industry. Coincidentally, this new ban also comes just weeks after Moldova’s president met some backlash from Moscow after denouncing Soviet rule as occupation. Is Russia fighting back?
However, this isn’t the first time wine from Moldova has been banned in Russia: in 2006, Moldova lost over $180 million in sales due to a Russian halting all imports for the same health reasons. The rest of the world grew suspicious, assuming Russia purposely made the move because of Moldova’s increased relations with the West. After all, the United States, which have stricter regulations on the import of wines, did not ban the Moldova wines.
When the ban was finally lifted, Moldova’s trade deficit with Russia was $193 million, and wine production dropped drastically.
Does Moldova face the same fate as it did in 2006? How will the country’s economy fare when the world is already in recession?
[Photo: akk_rus]
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