site.btaIt Takes 86 Documents to Start to Export Bulgarian Wine to North Macedonia

It takes 86 documents and meeting lots of requirements to start to export Bulgarian wine to North Macedonia, Yordan Chorbadjiiski, President of the National Vine and Wine Chamber (NVWC) and Executive Director of the Black Sea Gold winery in Bulgaria said at an event at BTA’s Press Club in Skopje. Attending were also BTA Director General Kiril Valchev, Bulgarian Ambassador in Skopje Angel Angelov and North Macedonia’s Media Information Agency Director General Dragan Antonovski, among others.

NVWC has started an initiative to cooperate with representatives of the vine and wine sector in North Macedonia, Chorbadjiiski added. Black Sea Gold will distribute its products on the market in North Macedonia, he added.

Initially, Black Sea Gold will export Bulgarian wines to North Macedonia, as the export of spirits requires a larger number of permits to be issued, Chorbadjiiski noted, hoping that all the documents for spirits will be prepared within two weeks.

“Our partners sent me an e-mail with 86 documents that one needs to take out in North Macedonia to be able to export wine there,” Chorbadjiiski added.

There is no easy way to export wines or strong alcoholic beverages to a non-EU country. Every state requires different documents and certificates, he also said.

In Sofia, the head of the Executive Agency on Vine and Wine, Krassimir Koev, told BTA that in order to import wine in Bulgaria from non-EU countries, one is required to fill in a customs declaration for a specific use. Through the Customs Agency, the declaration is provided to the Agency on Vine and Wine which exercises control on the distribution of the wine, checking if the product has been properly bottled and the country of origin is on the packaging, he explained.

Chorbadjiiski hopes that more wineries will start selling wines and strong alcoholic beverages in North Macedonia, adding that he will help North Macedonian wineries to position their wines on the Bulgarian market. In his words, North Macedonian wines are world class wines, and he expects that a close partnership between Bulgaria and North Macedonia in wine production will open their paths to the global market.

Chorbadjiiski stated that Bulgarian wines will be on the market in North Macedonia within a week. Traditional Bulgarian wine varieties will be exported to North Macedonia, he said and claimed that North Macedonia's consumers really like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Rose.

According to Eurostat data, in 2018 Bulgaria exported wine amounting to 30 million euro. A fair share of that export was to non-EU countries (nearly 7 million euro).