Bolivia bans grape imports from Argentina and Chile

Bolivia is imposing a three-month ban on grape imports from Argentina and Chile to protect local wine production.

Wine regions in Boliva (Source: Wines of Bolivia)

According to Argentina’s English website The Bubble per a report in Bolivian newspaper La Razón, the ban came into effect on 27 January and will last until 27 April.

With the ban, the country will suspend any imports for grapes and wines from the two south American countries until Bolivia’s own grape harvest has been gathered in.

César Cocarico, the Bolivian minister of rural development and land reform, made the announcement late in January on the basis of a 2016 sanction that allows the country’s National Service for Animal and Plant Health and Food Safety to suspend imports to protect local and national production.

There are 3,000 hectares of land under vine in Bolivia and its main wine regions are the Valley of Cinti, the Valleys of Santa Cruz and the Central Valley of Tarija, which is responsible of 93% of the total grape production in the country, according to Wines of Bolivia.