The experiment has already been approved by the government commission
The government commission has approved an experiment on online wine sales through the Russian Post. The launch of the pilot phase is scheduled for November 1, 2023. At first, residents of the capital region will be able to buy wine remotely. In case of positive results, all Russians will have the right to order alcoholic drinks online. It is noteworthy that only domestic wines were allowed to be sold by mail.
By the way, this caused a demarche among our friends in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), who considered that Russian alcohol within the framework of the project, it gains a competitive advantage, and this contradicts the agreements between the participating states: Armenian, Kazakh and Belarusian wines were not included in the experiment.
There are many legal complexities in the issue of allowing the sale of alcohol online, which is why so much discussion preceded the current decision. Back in 2020, the Ministry of Finance was preparing a bill that would allow the start of online sales, but then the initiative was not implemented — in particular, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Internal Affairs opposed it.
Officially, the sale of alcohol on the Internet has been banned since 2007, and if something is bought this way, then you need to understand that this is, for the most part, counterfeit. Therefore, the state is so seriously concerned about this issue: it is necessary to control compliance with the norms of Russian legislation regarding the trade in wine (the time period for sales, the age limit, etc.). Marketplaces have long stated that they are ready to introduce customer identification by age when buying alcohol, and the entire path “from producer to buyer” will be regulated by the application of EGAIS standards, but so far the state has decided to start an experiment on selling wine through the mail. Probably because it will allow to work out all technical issues, to establish interaction between regulatory authorities and the seller…
The buying process will look something like this. The order is placed through the official website. Delivery will be only the next day (or even later). It is also known that the products of the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union do not participate in the pilot. Yes, the initial versions of the document included Armenian, Kazakh and Belarusian wines (even if their market share is low), but the final version clearly states that only Russian wine, and the list of specific manufacturers to participate in the experiment will later be compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture. It turns out that we discredit our friends with their products. Not Western «enemies» with their wine, but producers from Belarus and Armenia. At the same time, when deciding to popularize our own, we reduce competition and, inevitably, the quality of the product itself.
What are the authors of the initiative trying to achieve and what consumers are the innovations aimed at? Wines of popular Russian manufacturers have long been represented in retail chains. Dumping is seen as the only way to attract potential buyers to post offices, i.e. lower prices. But will winemakers agree to sacrifice profits? Hard to believe.
There are other doubts about the usefulness of the decision. The remote sale of wine will increase the availability of such products for the population, which will naturally lead to an increase in its consumption, Viktor Zykov, a member of the Coordinating Council under the Ministry of Health, is convinced. In his opinion, in this regard, this initiative is contrary to the interests of public health, since its implementation may lead to an increase in alcohol-related mortality and morbidity. “It is known that a significant proportion of wine consumers are women, for whom there is an increased risk of an increase in the prevalence of alcoholism and the occurrence of fetal alcohol syndrome in children. It can be assumed that if the bill is passed, the rates of female alcoholism will increase over time,” he believes.
It should be noted that in many developed countries where the sale of alcohol online is allowed, the state has created strong control mechanisms, emphasizes B&C Agency Managing Partner Ivan Samoylenko. “We in Russia also need this. It is very important to comply with the requirements of the law and not harm the consumers themselves, and the access of minors to such an opportunity to buy alcohol online should be limited. And the development of requirements for the sellers of these products also needs to be very thorough and comprehensive,” he concludes.