Georgian Agriculture Minister Visits China

Georgian Agriculture Minister, Otar Danelia, met his Chinese counterpart Han Changfu in Beijing, two months after the latter visited Tbilisi.

The two ministers co-chaired first meeting of the bilateral agriculture cooperation working group on July 13, according to the Chinese Agriculture Ministry, which said that cooperation of the two countries in this sector has a “great potential”.

During the visit the Georgian Agriculture Minister attending opening of “Georgian wine promotion center” in Beijing. Danelia said that the ministry is “actively working” for promotion of the Georgian wine on the Chinese market.

China was the fifth largest export market for Georgian wine in the first half of 2015 after Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Poland, according to the National Wine Agency of Georgia.

While wine exports to Russia and Ukraine declined by 63% and 60%, respectively, in the first half of this year, export to China increased by 23% in the same period compared to first six months of last year to 759,969 bottles.