A public of nearly 2.000 members of trade and press gathered yesterday at the SwissΓ΄tel Krasnye Holmy in Moscow for the 12th edition of Vinitaly Russia and the opportunity to taste some 800 or more Italian wines represented by single Italian wine producers, consortiums and a number of Russiaβs most important wine importers.
Although the first seven months of 2015 saw imports decline by 26,8% (57milion euro) in value, (Source: Federal Customs Service Russia, both Italian institutions and local big market players present at the one-day event concurred in recognizing that Italy still remains today the undisputed leader in Russia amongst wine importing countries. βItβs a very positive signβ said Cesare Maria Ragaglini, the Italian Ambassador in Moscow, during Vinitaly Russiaβs opening ceremony βbut to maintain hold on first place is a though task and we need to concentrate all our efforts on doing better. These are difficult times for the Russian market and producers need to look at mid to long-term investments in view of a more rosy futureβ.
βOf course, now we have quite a complicated time in Russiaβ Andrey Savchenko, import director of AST-international, one of Russiaβs most prominent importers, explained when asked about the current market situation βand today foreign wines are quite expensive, thatβs why there has been a reduction in sales which will probably extend to next year as well. But believe meβ he goes on to assure βthe Russian market is still very interesting for wine producers from all the world and especially from Italy because Italian lifestyle is closer to Russian mentality than others countries. I am sure that in the future, Italian wines, Italian fashion and luxury products will be very popular amongst Russian consumersβ.
Proof is in the numbers as nearly 2.000 members of trade and press visited the one-day event yesterday in Moscow lining up to take part both in the afternoon Walk Around Tasting and the tight sequence of educational sessions that today represent the cornerstone of Vinitaly Internationalβs mission around the world.
βWhat is really important is to continue organizing events like these and focusing on education as the best means to promote the culture of wine, Italian wine, in Russia and counteract the current difficulties within this promising marketβ says NiccolΓ² Fontana, the first adviser on trade affairs of the Italian Embassy in Moscow.
According to Alex Pinsky, head of the purchasing department at DP Trade βpeople who consume really expensive bottles donβt change their habitsβ whilst the crisis is mainly hitting the middle class where people are starting to look for cheaper value-for-money bottles.
The question is, what can producers do to improve the sales situation?
The words βpatienceβ and βsupportβ are on the mouths of many implying the need for producers to sit tight and not give up whilst helping importers in their difficult task.
βWe have to pass this difficult economical situation togetherβ says Mr Pinsky βIf itβs possible, we always ask producers to offer us some discounts, marketing support and maybe even some changes in the payment policies. Every little thing helps. We have to continue paddling to keep it rolling, otherwise if it stops, we risk losing a place on the shelf or on a wine list to a competitor and once that happens, it will take much longer to get it backβ.
βLetβs have patienceβ concludes Mr Savchenko βwe need support from our partners, support means that we need time, we need to wait, we need to survive today, and tomorrow we will be able to show impressive resultsβ.
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