Georgia’s Badagoni to Sell 5 mln Bottles of Wine in China

TBILISI - Georgian wine company Badagoni and China's Wenzhou Bydoway Import & Export Co. signed a memorandum on Monday, which means that for the first time in the history of Georgian winemaking, the Badagoni Company will sell 5 million bottles of wine in the Chinese market.

The memorandum was signed at the Badagoni winery in the village of Khodasheni, Kakheti Region and the ceremony was attended by Georgia’s Prime Minister, Giorgi Kvirikashvili and the Minister of Agriculture Levan Davitashvili.

Besides the signing ceremony with Chinese company, Badagoni also marked its 10th anniversary on November 28.

PM Kvirikashvili congratulated Badagoni on its anniversary and wished them success. He noted that Badagoni combines the best traditions of Georgian winemaking and modern technologies.

Moreover, Kvirikashvili congratulated Badagoni on signing the memorandum with the Chinese company on selling 5 million bottles of wine and expressed hope that demand on Georgian wine would increase in the future.

The PM spoke about enhanced trade cooperation with China and underlined that the government completed negotiations on the free trade agreement with China.

“We have consent from Chinese Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng that the agreement's provisions related to wine will come into force as soon as it is signed,” he said.

Kvirikashvili pointed out that the government was planning to export 3-3.5 million bottles of wine to the Chinese market, and today, in November, the export has exceeded 4.8 million bottles. He said the number would exceed 5 million bottles by the end of this year.

“Overall, the export of Georgian wine increased by 28 percent last year, which is a very important indicator,” said the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister claimed that supporting winemaking was the government's top priority.

“For Georgia, vineyard-keeping is not just another industry, but a demonstration of the greatest heritage that requires care... Today we focus on further improving of quality and I believe that the positive process we are witnessing will continue further," he added.

Badagoni Wine Company was established in 2002 in Georgia’s winemaking region Kakheti. Today it is one of the biggest and most successful companies in Georgia and in the whole Caucasus Region and it exports wines to 32 countries across the world.

By Thea Morrison