OREANDA-NEWS On Monday, August 20, come into force a minimum retail price (MRP)  for "weak" and "strong" vodka in Russia.

It is about alcoholic beverages of a strength of from 37 to 40 degrees. The corresponding order of the Ministry of Finance, providing for the unification of the MRP for vodka with ethanol content of over 37% to 40% at the level of 205 rubles. This information was published on July 6 on the official portal of legal information. After 45 days from the date of publication, August 20, this document came into force.

The Federal law on the state regulation of production and turnover of alcohol says that vodka is an alcoholic beverage based on ethyl alcohol, which was produced from food raw materials and water, and the ethanol content in it — from 38% to 56% of the finished product.

In the previous version of the document, which prescribed minimum wholesale and retail prices for strong alcohol, the MRP  for vodka was established for products with ethanol content from 38% to 56%. At the same time, the most popular type of vodka on the Russian shelves is a classic forty-degree drink. The MRP for it is 205 rubles for a half-liter bottle, and this level does not change.

In the explanatory note the Ministry reported that the minimum price of vodka with a strength of 37% to 40% is a good way of unification.  The possibility not to apply the minimum price in the turnover of the product with a strength of 38% will exclude.

Vadim Drobiz - the Head of the Research Center of the Federal and Regional Alcohol Markets sure, that the unification of the MRP is preventive. Recently in Russia was banned powder alcohol, but there is no such a product on the market.  The same problems happened in the case of vodka.

Vadim Drobiz explained that in Russia people do not buy vodka, the strength of which is below 40%,. The result is: any changes from the unification of the minimum retail price for citizens will not happen, he said.

At the same time there is vodka  35%, 37% and 38% in Europe. Any vodka of foreign production, imported to Russia, will still be sold at a price twice higher than the MRC. So, the unification of this indicator is really meaningless.

“There will not global changes in the vodka market”, reported experts.