< br />
MOSCOW, August 9The reduction in the supply of imported beer in the Russian Federation in recent years, including due to the increase in duties, has led to an increase in demand for the domestic product; some catering establishments also intend to expand its range, industry representatives interviewed said.
Earlier on Friday, the Kommersant newspaper reported that the Russian Finance Ministry had asked Russian beer producers to assess the advisability of increasing duties on beer from unfriendly countries from the current 0.1 euros to 1 euro per liter by the end of 2024, and to 1.5 euros per liter in 2025. The letter indicates that the proposal was made by the United Breweries (OPKh) holding. sent a request to the Finance Ministry. 
Moscow restaurant market ombudsman Sergei Mironov reported that a possible increase in duties on imported beer will lead to an increase in its prices, but consumers will not refuse this drink. He also expressed concerns that as a result of the increase in duties, prices for domestic products may also increase.
«Until 2022, in addition to domestic beer, our line included several Belgian beer items, but due to sanctions, supplies were stopped. Immediately after that, beer of this brand began to be produced in Russia under its license and remained on our menu. Now all beer in Yakitoria restaurants is Russian, but most of the assortment is produced under the license of Western brands. The quality and taste of this beer are absolutely identical to what was brought from abroad, most guests do not even ask about the presence of imported beer on the menu,» said Alexander Muratov, director of development of the Yakitoria restaurant franchise chain.
He specified that today the menu of Yakitoriya restaurants includes five types of draft beer and three types of bottled beer. «In our opinion, beer produced in Russia has successfully replaced imported beer. After all, sales remained at the same level, which is a good result,» Muratov emphasized.
There is no imported beer in the Tanuki restaurant chain either. “The beer we present is of domestic production. After excluding the imported product, domestic drinks are in high demand among guests. We can say that the demand has normalized, we plan to expand the line of domestic beer in the bar menu,” the TanukiFamily press service reported.
In turn, the development director of the Yakitoria franchise restaurant chain noted that a possible increase in duties on beer from Western countries will lead to an increase in prices for the end consumer. “If this happens, then we should expect a further decrease in the supply of imported beer in restaurants where it is not the main drink. At the same time, beer concepts will continue to offer imported beer, but at a higher price,” Muratov believes.