More companies from southern autonomy of Moldova get right to export alcoholic beverages to Russia

Chisinau, 7 August /MOLDPRES/ - The Russian Federal Consumer Rights Protection and Human Health Control Service, Rosspotrebnadzor, has lifted the bans on export of alcoholic drinks and raw wine to Russia for five companies from the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia (Gagauz Yeri), according to a press release by the institution.

Rosspotrebnadzor added that it was examining the issue of expanding the list of exporters of wines from Gagauzia. In the first half of 2015, Russian health inspectors tested 243 batches of wine from the Gagauz autonomy.

Moscow fully stopped imports of Moldovan alcoholic beverages on 10 September 2013. As a result, in late September, the European Commission urged EU countries to liberalise the market for Moldovan wines before the enforcement of the Free Trade Agreement’ procedures.

Although some Moldovan enterprises were inspected by Moscow experts and the Russian inspection made encouraging statements to this effect, the bans have not yet been lifted, except for enterprises from the Gagauz autonomy and breakaway Transnistrian region.

This deadlock and the uncertainty regarding the final decision on the resumption of exports are used as a tool to press Moldovan institutions, in order to get political and economic concessions, more economic experts believe. According to them, it is the same situation as in 2006-2007, when, through giving evasive answers ,without arguments, the unblocking of exports was postponed by one year.

The prohibitions imposed by Russia on more food products and beverages led to a dramatic decline in exports to the Russian market. Deliveries of goods to Russia dropped by a half in the first five months of this year against the same period of 2014.

(Reporter V. Bercu, Editor L. Alcaza)