Ukraine boosts wine production by 5% in 2015

Still wine production in Ukraine in 2015 rose by 5%, to 6.36 million decaliters, the Association of Winegrowers and Winemakers of Ukraine has reported.

"These figures are evidence of a failure for the sector, as the minimum growth was offset by the pace compared to the worst year for winemaking during the whole period of Ukraine's independence – 2014 when the loss in the still wine segment was 48%," Association Director Serhiy Mykhailechko said.

He said that the group of fortified wine suffered most of all. The decline in 2015 was 31%, to 1.1 million decaliters.

"There is no doubt that the reason for this is the state policy, in particular, the groundless increase of the tax burden. Actually this is the deliberate destruction of a group of Ukrainian wine – sweet wine – our Cahors wine and muscat wine," Mykhailechko said.

As reported, referring to the State Statistics Service, Ukraine in 2015 processed 194,029 tonnes of grapes for wine material (not taking into account the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea and Sevastopol), which is 15.2% down on 2014.