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I go over some comments on social networks, observing a very “regular” situation: some rejoice, they say, this is another step towards reducing the consumption of alcoholic products in Russia.
Others see this as a negative, allegedly our Government is simply trying to “revenge” the imposition of sanctions against the Russian Federation, oppressing wine “gourmets”.
So hello everyone. I just want to speculate on this topic: what is bad in this law, what is good, and in general, how does this procedure work?
Is it because of some restrictions regarding the import of wine drinks from other states, or did the authorities decide to simply “replace concepts” by changing the labeling?
“What did they do” and controversial moments
On June 26, 2020, the Law “On viticulture and winemaking in the Russian Federation” was adopted, and there is an interpretation that now the producer should indicate the place and year of origin of the crop.
However, some products (wine, cognac) and its preparation technology do not allow such information to be indicated on the labels.
Judging by the diagram, imports have grown strongly by 2019, and now they will fall both because of the law and because of the pandemic.
Now look. Cognac production is a blend of distillates with different aging, their list within the same brand may vary.
On August 11 of the same year, the Ministry of Finance explained that the provisions of this Law would not apply to cognacs, since these drinks are made by processing distillate, not grapes. Phew! We seem to have defended a good cognac, but everything is not so rosy with wine.
The volume of purchases of foreign wine materials really gradually decreased, as a result of the new law, the legal supply of such products will be completely stopped:
All this allegedly concerns wines, plus a ban has been introduced on the use of foreign wine materials in the preparation of our wines as well. So far, no one has really given clear explanations, they have not even decided on the body that will be responsible for the implementation of this Law!
Yes, yes, they “football” this responsibility to each other: the Ministry of Industrial Trade stated that they did not receive any instructions, this is all for Rosalkogolregulirovanie, they point to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Finance – to the Ministry of Agriculture.
Politics again
If you think about it, there is not a single moment here to call this move a fight against alcohol consumption. No one! This step is just dry as a desert policy. It’s like “squeezing” any imported product by changing the requirements for its labeling.
They did it in such a way that the manufacturers themselves will not be able to adjust in any way. For example, let’s take winemakers who have no reason to report the year and origin of their products.
That is, literally everything is debatable, but the law must be adopted!
We know that many of them still keep the recipe a secret.
This cannot be a fight against alcoholism, since ordinary wine lovers (not gourmets, but for the purpose of drinking) will calmly buy a domestic product, which can turn out to be of very high quality, and I will spit and buy vodka or make wine myself.
A drinker will always find a way!
Countries – “opponents” and our friends
If this is a dry policy and nothing more than a “reciprocal sanction”, then who should it harm? Countries that introduced something against us. Our case is a law that harms not only them, but also our “friends”. Among those who produce wines for the Russian market:
- Armenia (“Ararat” has already suffered). We are not in a tense relationship with them;
- Moldova – also did not particularly quarrel;
- Belarus, and they produce wines;
- African and South American countries;
- Bulgaria;
- they didn’t really fight with the Greeks either, and they drove a lot of wine to Russia;
- China – in Russia, their wines are sold mainly through online stores, but still.
What I circled with a rectangle is about the Sparkling Wines company. Yes, she completely stopped the production of “champagne”!
So with this law we managed to squeeze ourselves. I have already said that a ban on the use of foreign raw materials has been introduced. Firms “Abrau-Durso” and “Sparkling Wines” also managed to pretty “sip”, “thanks” to this law.
Now, alcohol markets, together with large chain stores, will be forced to find fault with the products supplied, requiring additional markings, otherwise they will be fined.
Good news
I gave this section its name for a reason. Oh yes, believe me, some see this as almost the salvation of our winemakers, and here’s why.
Many companies will allegedly increase their investment in domestic vineyards, and the lion’s share of our wine producers have never used foreign raw materials.
Some import brands are ready to adapt to new requirements, for example, France (the entire union of cognac and wine producers) has already begun to invest in printing new labels.
They found salvation in sticking stickers on bottles, ours agreed with this proposal – there were negotiations.
Serious jumps from 2015 to 2016 and from 2017 to 2018, it turns out that it will continue to grow, since we have a ban on foreign wine materials:
Producers of wines that use a mixture of raw materials of different varieties, vineyards and years will have the hardest time. Now all this needs to be specified.
The principle is: “Either you give up your secret recipes and report everything, or get out.” All those who agree and will be able to adapt to the new requirements will continue to successfully trade their wines on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Now I have a question for you: will our authorities stop at this still “raw” Law? Well, the supply of imported wines will be reduced, some will adapt (the price, of course, will grow), some will be forced to stop it – then what? Will the cost of excises be raised again?