Obstacles in exporting Macedonian wine should be lifted soon - Agriculture Minister

Skopje, 12 December 2010 (MIA) - Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management Ljupco Dimovski said the issue involving the ban to export Macedonian bottled wine with a label for geographical origin should be settled with Brussels, not with Greece.

This should be done by reviewing the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, the Wine Protocol and Macedonia's essential rights to use the term "Macedonia".

"The issue is due to be settled and there should be no obstacles in exporting Macedonian wine," Minister Dimovski said.

The issue with the export of Macedonian bottled wine on foreign markets with labels for geographical origin occurred when the region "Macedonia" was registered in the catalog of EU wine regions by Greece.

Macedonia between 1 January and 15 November 2010 exported 67 million liters of wine - an increase by 23 million than last year.

"It comes as a result of Ministry's efforts to find new markets and to return Macedonian wines on traditional markets," Dimovski said.