Russia Says Domestic Beer Now Accounts for 95% of Sales After Import Slump

Views of Donetsk during a special military operation of the Russian Armed Forces. (Photo: Aleksandr Chernykh/Kommersant/Sipa USA via AP Images)

Over four years into the Russo-Ukrainian War, the Russian government is reporting a steep drop-off in foreign alcohol sales.

On Friday, state media outlet Ria Novosti reported that beer imports from countries “unfriendly to Russia” have fallen by 34% year over year, down to a total of just 61.7 million liters. The report clarifies that these are not only nations classified in Russia’s official “unfriendly countries” list, but all nations outside of the EAEU, an economic union that includes post-Soviet states Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

During the same time frame, beer imports from EAEU countries have reportedly doubled to a total of 5.35 billion liters. Ria Novosti adds that domestic beer now holds the overwhelming majority of the local market share in Russia, equivalent to 95.4% of all sales.

Putting those figures into perspective, Russians reportedly drank 540.6 billion rubles worth of beer in the first half of this year, equivalent to nearly USD $7 billion.

Foreign alcohol in Russia— and the lack thereof — has been the subject of much debate in the international community over the past few years. Spirits giants like Bacardi and Diageo have ceased operations in the country, precipitating the rise of locally made, cheaply available alternatives promoted by the Russian government through state media outlets and official news releases.

Spirits conglomerates aren’t the only ones paying a price. Following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the resulting sanctions imposed against Russia, the government expanded its unfriendly countries list to 49 states, including all EU members, the US, Australia and Japan. Earlier this year, Russian media outlet Kommersant reported that the government was preparing to once again hike alcohol tariffs on unfriendly states, which were previously set at 20% of their customs value.

Alkopro Guild President Andrey Moskovsky told that outlet that only “a couple dozen” major foreign spirits were expected to stay on the market after the tariff hike, and that some may localize production in Russia.

Ria Novosti’s report raises new questions. If beer imports are falling across the board — and not merely from “unfriendly” countries — it would suggest that the government is strengthening its push to produce most, if not all, alcohol products within the country.