OREANDA-NEWS. Moldova ranks eighth among the non-EU countries on the European Union wine market in 2010-2012, according to the Global Trade Atlas.

On a top of 11 non-EU countries, Moldova comes after New Zealand, Argentina and Macedonia, and outstrips such countries as: Serbia, Morocco and Georgia. Australia and Chile are the largest non-EU exporters of wine on the European Union's market.

The Moldovan wine exports, in monetary terms, increased from 19 million dollars in 2010 to 21 million dollars in 2012, according to global statistics on wine market.

Data by the Economics Ministry shows that, in 2012, Moldova exported over 162.07 thousand hectolitres of wine to EU states, duty free, or 90.04 per cent of the annual quota of 180,000 decalitres, offered by the EU. The most important export destinations for Moldovan winemakers were the Czech Republic, Germany, Romania, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia.

Under the autonomous trade preferences, provided to Moldova by EU, 196,700 hectoliters of wine were exported in 2013. The quotas were used at a level of 82 per cent, according to an annual report by the Economics Ministry.

On 1 January 2014, the EU fully liberalised the Moldovan wine import. After this decision by the European Parliament, Rapporteur on Trade with Moldova Iuliu Winkler said that "immediate liberalisation of the market for Moldovan wine is a response reaction to Russia's pressures on the Eastern Partnership countries, implicitly to unjustified embargo on Moldovan wines. These changes approved by the European Parliament will help Moldovan winemakers overcome the difficult situation triggered by Russia's embargo.".