FinExpertiza: strong alcohol sales grew by 7.5% year-on-year

Sales of strong alcohol with an alcohol content above 25% grew by 7.5% year-on-year and amounted to 6.8 liters per person. About it reported RIA Novosti with reference to the results of a study by the FinExpertiza audit and consulting network based on data from Rosalkogolregulirovanie.

It is clarified that such a strong increase (according to the results of 2021, the indicator increased by 1.2%, in 2020 – by 3.3%) may be associated with the withdrawal of foreign alcohol markets from Russia. “Probably, some consumers could buy imported alcohol for the future,” says Aghvan Mikaelyan, a member of the board of directors of FinExpertiza. The growth in the consumption of strong alcohol can also be associated with lower rates of growth in prices for it compared to the prices for beer and wine, as well as with a reduction in counterfeit products.

The leaders in the consumption of strong alcohol were regions with a cold climate: Karelia (15.5 liters per person per year), Sakhalin Region (14.9 liters) and Komi with the Magadan Region (14.6 liters). In general, the consumption of this alcohol has increased in most regions.

At the same time, wine consumption decreased by 5.5%, it fell to 6.2 liters per person. It increased only in 8 regions, the leaders were the Nenets Autonomous Okrug (11.7 liters per person), Karelia (11 liters), the Moscow Region and St. Petersburg (10.2 liters each), the Leningrad Region (10 liters).

Beer consumption remained almost at the same level as in 2021, having decreased by 0.06% to 52.2 liters per person per year. The most active consumption of beer was recorded in the Jewish Autonomous Region, where 93.2 liters per person per year, as well as the Murmansk and Sakhalin Regions (87.4 and 83.8 liters, respectively).

According to Mikayelyan, alcohol is still perceived as one of the most accessible ways to reduce anxiety and stress. As the expert noted, by mid-2022, spending on alcohol, tobacco products and sweets increased by 20%.