OREANDA-NEWS. December 16, 2010. The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) held a meeting of its Expert Council on developing competition on the Market of Production and Sales of Ethylene, Alcohol and Alcohol-Containing Products, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

Representatives of FAS Russia, the Chamber of Industry and Commerce of the Russian Federation, the Russian Union of Winegrowers and Winemakers, the Committee of Producers of Alcohol Products, the Association of Wine Importers, the National Association of Low Alcohol Drinks, “Russky Alcohol” CJSC, “Simple” Company, “Megapolis” Trading House” Ltd., “Moscow Champagne Plant” Ltd., “Bacardi-Rus” Ltd., “DP-Trade” Ltd., “Castel Malesan” Ltd., and “Rodnik i K” Ltd. took part in the meeting.

Mr. Romanov, representing the Committee of Producers of Alcohol Products, talked about absence of a unified approach to regulation of the market of alcohol products – depending on the category of alcohol products and their “proof”. He also analyzed how the existing normative legal acts and draft laws set preferences for different categories of alcohol products. Mr. Popovich (the Russian Union of Winegrowers and Winemakers) explained that damping prices for wine and alcohol products are the results of production of falsified products, and described the pricing principles for wine and wine materials. He also discussed the concept of “minimum price”. Mr. Blinov (the Chamber of Industry and Commerce of the Russian Federation) informed the Council about the inspection, organized upon a request of the Committee of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce for Entrepreneurship in Agro-Industry, to verify compliance of the authorities of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation with the antimonopoly law. Mr. Blinov also outlined the main problems related to storing alcohol products at trade outlets and improving the norms for storage of alcohol products.

The Expert Council heard a report of the FAS Russia’s Department for Control over the Authorities about the expert examination of the draft Order of the Federal Service for Regulating the Alcohol Market (Rosalcoholregulirovanie) “On Approving the Technical Conditions for Storing Alcohol and Alcohol-Containing Products Packed for Consumers in the Organizations Involved in Sales of Alcohol and Alcohol-Containing Products” to reveal the signs of violating the antimonopoly law.

Members of the Expert Council made several decisions, particularly, about the need to analyze whether normative-legal acts regulating the market of alcohol products comply with the antimonopoly law. The Expert Council advised regional offices of FAS Russia to pay special attention to the work of РАР in the federal districts (constituent territories of the Russian Federation) and publish on the official web-site of FAS Russia the draft letter to Rosalcoholregulirovanie with FAS Russia’s comments to be discussed by market participants.