Problems may arise for Russians, the federal treasury and domestic brewers
It is not beer that destroys people, it is political principles and the thirst for revenge that destroys people. Not in the literal sense, of course, but nonetheless. It is proposed to ban imported beer products into Russia. The State Duma is asking the Cabinet of Ministers to include it in the government’s prohibited list of agricultural products, raw materials and food supplied from unfriendly countries. At the same time, the share of imports on the Russian beer market is already small — 4%. The question arises: is the game worth the candle? Definitely not, market participants answer. It is much more important to stimulate domestic production and accustom Russians to domestic foam. I will take the liberty of answering our brewers. My golden entrepreneur, you have the right to express your position. But only few people care about her. When legislators are driven by “political vendetta,” any seemingly convincing arguments fade into the background. Since the countries are unfriendly, their beer has no place on our shelves…
Meanwhile, the leaders in beer exports to Russia in 2023 were Germany, Lithuania and Latvia, which, according to deputy Alexey Didenko, and this is true, take an anti-Russian position. It was he who turned to Prime Minister Mishustin with a request to ban the import of foamy drinks from a number of countries.
“Beer is almost as important an export product for Germany as apples are for Poland. But we have limited the import of apples, but not yet beer. At the same time, it is unfriendly countries that are increasing the supply of this drink to our country and earning tens of millions of dollars from this, tax deductions from which go, among other things, to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the deputy said. If the initiative is supported, then the import ban will include drinks from the United States, European Union countries, Canada, Australia and Norway. What will remain? I wonder if there are any fans of African or Chinese beer among MK readers?
Has the author of the idea thought about the possible consequences of his proposal? What if unfriendly countries start exporting beer to friendly ones, and friendly ones will transport it to Russia, but through their territory? In this case, nothing will change on our shelves, only foam will become more expensive. It turns out that the domestic buyer will be the loser. There is another negative scenario.
In response to our ban, Western countries, for example, may impose restrictions on the supply of Russian malt. Let me remind you that Russian malt exports have grown rapidly in recent years and in 2022 exceeded 236 thousand tons worth $127 million. According to the Agroexport Federal Center, the potential for malt supplies from Russia is estimated at more than 600 thousand tons ($350 million). What will the restriction lead to? To multi-million dollar losses for the Russian budget. There is another option for the development of events.
Unfriendly states may stop supplying hops to our country. And according to the Beer Producers Association (BPA), the volume of imports of hop products to Russia in 2022 amounted to about 4,500 tons (an increase of 20.84% compared to 2019). In 2021, the largest supplier of hops to Russia was Germany (63%, or 2308 tons), Belarus took second place (485 tons), and the USA took third (379 tons), according to analysts from the VladVneshService information agency. It is clear that such a prospect will hit domestic brewers, who are almost 97% dependent on foreign hops.
It turns out that an attempt to annoy the West could turn into disaster for the Russian consumer, the federal treasury and domestic brewers. But, as they say, when you reject, offer. Are you overcome by the desire for revenge? So increase import duties. If unfriendly countries don’t want to part with our beer market, they will fork out the cash, and if they don’t, then “all the best.” Yes, the consumer risks facing rising prices and a reduction in assortment. But, on the other hand, the budget may be replenished.
“Western countries are already practically entangled in these sanctions, they tried to punish us, but in the end, as we see, this is a completely obvious thing, as can be seen from the statistics, they hit our own economy, in terms of jobs,” said President Putin. Here the well-known proverb “the dog barks the caravan moves on” comes to mind (read: despite the malicious and senseless criticism, Russia will continue to develop). But in this case, why do we respond to barking with the same bark?