TBILISI - Georgia and China announced earlier this week that the two countries had agreed on the final details of a free trade agreement that will open the world’s largest consumer market to Georgian products.

The tax-free agreement will be officially signed in December and enter into force following its ratification by both countries in mid-2017.

According to Georgia’s Minister of Economy Dimitry Kumsishvili, 95 per cent of Georgian products, including wine and mineral water, will enter the Chinese market without any additional taxes.

Kumsishvili also said that in early October, China’s Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng would visit Tbilisi to sign the agreement.

In total three rounds of negotiations and two working meetings were held between China and Georgia. The possibility of establishing a free trade regime between the two countries was first discussed in September 2015, with the first round of talks held in February.

Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili welcomed the announcement, saying the free-trade deal will help boost Georgian wine sales to China.

“We are developing a network of retail shops in China that sell Georgian wines because we believe that China will become one of the most important export destinations for Georgian wine and other goods. This is a significant achievement that will have a major effect on the development of the Silk Road Project," Kvirikashvili said.

Georgia’s Minister of Levan Davitashvili weighed in on the issue saying the agreement is of the utmost importance, as it will help develop the agro-food sector.

Davitashvili noted that after Russia (14,664,610 bottles), China is the second largest destination for Georgian wine with 3,368,361 having been exported to the country in 2015.

By Thea Morrison

Edited by Nicholas Waller

PHOTO: Georgia's Minister of Economy Dimitri Kumsishvili with China's Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli in June 2016

14 September 2016 16:48