MOSCOW, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Russia's wine imports increased 6 percent in January-October 2023 from the same period of last year, said Maksim Chmora, head of the General Department of Federal Customs Revenues and Tariff Regulation at the Russian Federal Customs Service, on Friday.
"The volume of wine imports increased by 6 percent over ten months," the official said during his speech at the Russian Winemaking Forum.
Russia imported 532,400 tons of wine from January to October, and a total of 501,100 tons in the first ten months of 2022, according to the Federal Customs Service.
Chmora noted that Russia imported wine primarily from Italy, which provided 30 percent of Russia's wine imports. Other leading countries included Georgia with a share of 17 percent, Spain 13 percent, France 8 percent, and Portugal 6 percent.
At the same time, Russia's wine exports decreased throughout the same period. Wine exports amounted to 1,400 tons in 2023, in comparison to 2,800 tons in 2022.
China, the largest Russian wine importer, consumed 41 percent of Russia's wine exports in 2023. Israel, Tajikistan and Türkiye were listed as major buyers of Russian wine. ■
