New Bill to Regulate Wine Grape Processing Industry

TIRANA, February 28

A new bill on viticulture and enology will set standard rules on wine grape processing and trading in Albania. The bill that’s expected to be signed into law by the end of the year will define specific criteria and minimize any abuses.
The bill aims at setting the rules on production, authorized enology practices, processing restrictions, appellations of origin, geographical indications (GI) and traditional wine grape terms.
Currently, the wineries operating in Albania are based on the law On Vineyards and Wine.
A part of the production process is carried out of the regulated market. Hence, it is difficult to have an exact number of winemaking subjects in Albania.
Based on the official data provided by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Albania has a vineyard area of around 11,000 hectares. Wine production increased by 9.1 percent in 2018. The final product is sold both in the domestic and international markets.

The annual trade volume in the winemaking industry is estimated at Euro 15 million. Some 100 vineries across Albania produce over two million liters of wine.
The reported production of grapes in Albania appears to exceed that of Serbia and Montenegro. Meanwhile, the leading region for vineyard grape production is Fier followed by Berat, Elbasan, and Vlora.

Source: monitor