MOSCOW, September 20. /TASS/. Russia’s Agriculture Ministry is ready to hold consultations with France to clarify the changes in its winemaking legislation, the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement, originally citing Deputy Agriculture Minister Sergey Levin
"Following the request of the French side, our country is open to further dialogue and ready to hold expert consultations to consider cooperation in this sector, in particular, to clarify the amendments in the Russian legislation," Levin said at a meeting with French Agriculture Minister Juliene Denormandie.
According to the ministry, in January-August of 2021 the trade in agriculture products between Russia and France grew by almost 30% to $708 mln. French companies are successfully implementing large food industry projects in Russia.
Apart from trade in agricultural products and food, the two countries are intensively developing cooperation on investments, the ministry noted.
Russia is interested in expanding supplies of food products to the French market. Considering that France is to preside the European Union in the first half of next year, Levin expressed hope that the French side will support Russia in "recognizing the principle of regionalization in the export of Russian poultry products to the EU market."
Earlier, Denormandie announced on his Twitter page that the Agriculture Ministries of France and Russia had reached an agreement on ways to resolve the champagne issue.
About the law
On July 2, President Vladimir Putin signed a law regulating the production and circulation of wine products in Russia. Under the amendments to the law "the use of geographical indications and appellations of origin in relation to wine products is carried out within the framework of the Russian national system" and in accordance with the legislation on winegrowing and winemaking.
Amendments were made to the 1995 law on state regulation of alcohol circulation. In particular, in the list of types of alcoholic products, the words "sparkling wine (champagne)" are replaced by the words "sparkling wine, including Russian champagne". The law also defines other details of the production and distribution of wine products. The initiative is aimed at setting clear rules for the functioning of the industry.