Russia: Carlsberg not to suffer from ban on beer sales at kiosks

The proposed ban on beer sales at kiosks in Russia will have a lower-than-expected impact on Danish brewer Carlsberg A/S as it will only be valid for beer containing over 5% of alcohol, Danish daily Jyllands-Posten said on January, 18.

According to an unnamed source, strong beer accounts for the smallest part of Carlsberg's combined sales in the Russian market. More than half of Carlsberg's profit comes from Russia, where the brewer has a market share of over 40%.

In December 2009, Russian lawmakers proposed banning beer sales at kiosks and between eleven o'clock in the evening and ten o'clock in the morning in a bid to curb alcohol consumption.

A month earlier, the parliament in Russia passed a bill to triple the beer excise tax as of 1 January 2010, a move that will also have a negative impact on Carlsberg.

20 January, 2010