YEREVAN – Armenia is negotiating with the EU on Armenian alcohol producers right to use the word ‘cognac’ when labeling their products, Armenian Deputy Minister of Economy, Garegin Melkonyan, told reporters on Tuesday prior to another round of the Armenian-EU talks on Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area.
“The word ‘cognac’ is registered in the EU as a place of origin. But we have explained to our European partners that our people perceive [cognac] as a type of goods and that cognac production has a long-standing history in Armenia. So it is necessary to take into account these details and nuances,” the deputy minister said.
Melkonyan said that the issue is being discussed actively. “The issue is on the agenda and will be discussed during this round as well. I hope that we will find such a solution with the European side, which will not damage our domestic producer on the ground of the approved international law in this sphere,” Melkonyan said. The deputy minister said that the government had previously discussed this issue with local producers.
“We pay close attention to informing producers on the process of talks so that they are ready for possible changes,” the official said.
Armenia is holding similar negotiations with the EU on the ‘champagne’ label. “But it should be noted that this issue is not that sensitive for Armenia,” the deputy minister said.
Armenia is the largest cognac producer in the post-USSR region. Cognac production grew in Armenia 20.2% year on year in 2012 to 18.5 million liters, and exports increased 28% to 17.282 million liters. Armenia supplied its cognac mainly to the CIS, primarily to Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.
Armenia exports its product to non-CIS states labeled as brandy.
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