OREANDA-NEWS. August 15, 2014. Wine trade between Moldova and the United States was legislated within a cooperation agreement, recently signed between the Agriculture and Food Industry Ministry and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

Representatives of 11 Moldovan wine companies and high officials returned from the United States, where they had meetings with American wine importers and distributors, at an initiative by State Secretary John Kerry.

At a press conference Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Vasile Bumacov said all future transactions in this field between Moldova and the U.S. would be based on the signed agreement.

"The American market is a huge one and could absorb all wines from Moldova. Our wines have been highly appreciated in Washington and New York. The problem is that Moldovan distributors do not have the financial potential to ensure a permanent presence of Moldova’s wines on the U.S. market," said the minister.

The representatives of the Moldovan wine companies were on a visit to the U.S. on 26 July-3 August. The visit was funded by the U.S. Department of State.

U.S. is the largest wine importer in the world, with an annual intake of 3.4 billion litres. In 2013, Moldovan wines sales on the United States’ market amounted to about 660,000 litres, by 37 per cent less against 2012, due to a flood of Moldovan cheap sweet wines to the U.S. market.