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Vodka and cognac will become more expensive from the new year: Prices for strong alcohol may increase by 50-100 rubles per bottle
Russians will most likely continue to celebrate the New Year 2025 with new prices for alcohol. The Treasury expects that the minimum retail price (MRP) for strong alcoholic beverages will increase from January 1. The draft order was published on the Federal Portal of Regulatory Legal Acts. The price of a 0.5 liter bottle of vodka will increase by 50 rubles (currently from 299 rubles to 349 rubles), brandy of the same volume will increase by 69 rubles (from 403 to 472 rubles), and cognac will immediately become more expensive. 95 rubles (from 556 to 651 rubles). But why is this being done and what impact will it have on the main market?
"Yes, the issue of increasing the minimum retail price for strong alcohol has been practically resolved. It will increase from January 1," the general director of the non-profit partnership "Club of Alcohol Market Professionals" told "KP". . .
The minimum retail price is what a bottle of legal alcohol cannot afford if it is made from quality raw materials and all taxes are paid. This number will increase for several reasons. Raw materials, production and delivery are becoming more expensive, and taxes on consumption and employee salaries are also increasing.
But won't the cheapest vodka and cognac become more expensive, forcing our fellow citizens to drink less? Many experts doubt it.
"People, especially from low-income strata of the population, are starting to look for cheaper substitutes and are turning to illegal alcohol and surrogate motherhood - moonshine, ethyl alcohol-based medicines and other dangerous products containing alcohol," warns Maxim Chernigovsky. - Today you can find illegal vodka for about 150 rubles per half liter.
In his opinion, tools such as minimum retail prices are now less effective.
"The MRC for strong alcohol was initially introduced as a barrier to prevent illegal products from entering legal retail trade," the expert recalls. - However, in 2017, the EGAIS system (Unified State Automated Information System for Accounting of Production and Circulation of Ethyl Alcohol, Alcohol, and Alcohol-Containing Products - Ed.) was introduced. From production to retail sale. And from that moment on, the penetration of illegal products into official stores is physically impossible. In this sense, the MRC function as a limiter of counterfeiting has lost its relevance.
Moreover, increasing MRP has little impact on the final price to the consumer.
"Today, the minimum retail price for 0.5 liters of vodka is 299 rubles, but you won't find it in stores at this price. You can't set it lower, but you can set it higher," says Chernigovsky. "Therefore, the assertion that the MRP needs to be increased due to increased costs for producers is debatable. Already now, vodka producers and sellers can set prices higher than the MRP (400, 500 rubles and higher).