E-Malt.com News article: Russia: Government takes the first step to limiting the size of plastic beer bottles

Russia took the first step on June 11 to limiting the size of plastic beer bottles, part of a government effort to promote healthy lifestyles by reducing the supply of cheap alcohol, Reuters reported.

The lower house of parliament passed a bill on the first reading that says only beer with alcohol content of 6 percent or less can be sold in plastic bottles, and limits their size to 1.5 litres. The law would go into effect Jan. 1, 2015.

The bill, which faces three more votes in parliament before President Vladimir Putin can sign it into law, would gradually reduce further the alcohol content of beer sold in plastic bottles and the size of the containers.

From July 1, 2015, only beer with up to 5 percent alcohol content could be sold in plastic bottles, which must contain no more than 1 litre. From 2016, the limits would drop to 4 percent alcohol content and 0.5-litre plastic bottles.

The restrictions would augment a ban on the sale of beer in street kiosks at all times and in shops from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m., as well as advertising restrictions put in place after Putin began a campaign to improve Russia's demographics.

Those measures - and excise tax hikes - have hit the market hard, prompting brewers to cut forecasts and close plants.

The Russian beer market, which has slumped by 25 percent since 2008, is dominated by four international companies - Carlsberg, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Heineken and Anadolu Efes.

Danish brewer Carlsberg in May cut its outlook for the Russian market and now expects it to decline by mid-single-digit percentages in beer volume in 2014, compared with earlier guidance for a low-single-digit decline.

The Russian government started to tighten beer market regulation in 2010 by tripling excise taxes, followed by restrictions on sales, advertising and consumption, as part of a campaign to curb alcoholism.

Here are some milestones that have changed the market landscape:

2010
Russia hikes beer taxes by 200 percent.

2011
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signs a bill that classifies beer as an alcoholic drink. Most provisions of the law will come into effect in 2012 and 2013, extending to beer regulations that had already been applied to stronger spirits.

Excise taxes rise by 11 percent.

2012
Russia bans beer drinking in public places and TV, Internet, and outdoor advertising of beer.

Excise taxes rise by 20 percent.

2013
Russia bans beer sales in kiosks and other non-stationary places and bans beer sales elsewhere from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m., excluding bars, cafes and nightclubs. Regional authorities may set their own time limits and in some regions beer sales are now banned between 9 p.m. and 11 a.m.

Beer advertising ban is extended to printed media.

Excise taxes rise by 25 percent.

Russian deputies call for an increase in the legal drinking age to 21 from 18. A bill is submitted to the State Duma lower house of parliament.

Russian brewers agree to voluntarily stop selling beer in plastic bottles of more than 2.5 litres, or 2 litres for beer with an alcohol content above 6 percent, from 2014, amid calls from some parliamentarians to ban beer in plastic bottles completely.

2014
Excise taxes rise by a further 20 percent.

The lower house of parliament takes the first step towards limiting the size of plastic beer bottles.


18 June, 2014