The coronavirus pandemic and economic consequences it entails are going to create certain issues for the wine and brandy production in Armenia. Chairman of the Union of Winemakers of Armenia Avag Harutyun has talked to GastroVino about the possible problems and outlined the solutions.

The drastic devaluation of the Russian ruble, according to Avag Harutyunyan, is bound to have consequences, because 80% of Armenia’s wine and brandy export goes to Russia and ruble is the currency used in most deals.

“If the payments are made in ruble now, consider we already have a 30% loss. As for European countries and the U.S., there are no problems with payment, but cargo traffic has stopped and it is unclear when the trucks will arrive,” said Harutyunyan.

He has noted that while 95% of Armenian brandy is exported, 70% of Armenian wine is consumed by the local market.

“Local consumption has come to an abrupt halt, because restaurants are closed and stores do not order new batches. Wine tourism as also paused,” added Harutyunyan.

Touching on wine and brandy production, he has told GastroVino that it is safe because winemaking cycle ended in February in all factories and the next stage of production will begin in September and October. As for brandy, factories have distilled the spirit for it for the most part.

“Currently, there are no issues with storage either. All wine factories have storage facilities with necessary conditions. Weather conditions will be favorable until May, but if the crisis continues until July and August, that is when problems with storage will arise,” said Avag Harutyunyan.

He has added that the sector is experiencing issues with payments and sales.

“We need the government to make domestic factoring mandatory or subsidize the loan rates, and we need the banks to provide additional loans for domestic factoring. It is very important to secure financial flows,” concluded Avag Harutyunyan.

Marie Tarian