More than 100 trucks with Armenian brandy entered Russia – Papoyan

YEREVAN, June 30. /ARKA/. From June 1 to 29, 106 trucks loaded with Armenian cognac (brandy) crossed the Georgian-Russian border and entered Russia, 19 of them in the last three days, Armenian Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan said.

“Yesterday in Rome, during the conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, I met with Georgian Minister of Agriculture and Environmental Protection David Songulashvili, and we once again discussed the issue of cognac transit through Georgian territory, in particular, the possibility of speeding up this process,” Papoyan wrote on his Facebook page.

Spontaneous laboratory checks of dozens of heavy trucks from Armenia exporting alcoholic beverages to Russia through the Upper Lars checkpoint had been reported for more than two months.

Armenian exporters were suffering financial losses due to delays in inspections. Armenian Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan said earlier that he had discussed the issue with Georgian officials in Armenia and that it was necessary to understand the reasons and find an institutional solution.

Armenian alcohol producers had appealed to international structures, in particular, the EBRD, the UN, the EDB, and the WTO, with a request to urgently assess the tense situation with the transit of Armenian goods through the customs territory of Georgia.

They stated that the Georgian side, in violation of accepted international trade criteria, was causing significant material damage to Armenian producers, who are unable to fulfill their contractual obligations to third parties. The authors of the letter appealed to international organizations and partners abroad to urge the Georgian government to end this arbitrary blockade and lift restrictions hindering the transit of goods through its territory.

The problem was resolved in early June, Papoyan reported that Georgia had allowed 52 trucks carrying alcoholic beverages from Armenia to pass through to Russia.-0-