Russia to hike duties on alcohol imports from ‘unfriendly’ states
From May, Russia will increase duties on imported alcohol from ‘unfriendly’ countries to around €5 per litre in a bid to boost the struggling federal budget and protect domestic manufacturers. Eugene Gerden reports.
It will be the second increase of duties for imported drinks in the past 1.5 years. Since September 2024, Russia has imposed an import duty of 20% of the customs value, but no less than €3 per litre of pure alcohol, on drinks from unfriendly countries.
Russian Cognac and whisky producers are expected to benefit from the upcoming duty hike, after facing sharp drops in demand for their products since the start of the year.
However, many local producers and analysts believe the increase of duties will have serious consequences for Russia’s broader drinks market, and will create added problems for importers.
Industry reaction
Alkopro Guild, a Russian drinks analyst agency, believes the introduced duty will lead to a significant price hike for most imported drinks in the Russian market – leading to a decline in sales of the most popular imported drinks.
In an interview, Ruslan Bragin, head of spirits at Fort, a large Russian wine trading company, also said the duty hike is bad news for most producers and importers, as it will lead to a sharp surge in costs.
“As in previous periods, the increased costs will be partially passed on to the end consumer”, he said. The expert also believes the share of imported alcohol in the low and mid-price segments will decrease as a result of the increased duties.
Price growth
Representatives of Ladoga Group, one of Russia’s major drinks’ importers, also expect that the growth of prices will be significant for the entire market although it will occur gradually as a result of depletion of the existing stocks.
The group predicts that the peak of prices’ growth will be observed in the second half of 2026.
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Analysts from Alkopro Guild also expect the range of foreign drinks on the Russian market to decrease as a result of the introduction of increased duties.
Risky business
Importing liquor to Russia already comes with serious risks, according to Alkopro Guild, with deliveries made through third countries, and alcohol shipped with prepayment.
The analysts believe that after the imposition of the increased duty, distributors will likely focus solely on the supplies of the most popular brands to the Russian market. They warn that this will lead to the decline of the existing range.
According to Bragin, the reduction in imports will primarily affect inexpensive and little-known imported Western brands in the gin, liqueur, cognac, brandy and whiskey categories, where consumer price sensitivity is the highest, compared to other segments of the market.
Producer predictions
Analysts also expect the duty uptick will force some producers to localise their production in Russia. They believe foreign producers may also use other approaches to sell their drinks in Russia at an affordable price.
For example, this spring, the local company Alvisa plans to launch production of Martini from Bacardi.
Previously, Bacardi supplied Martini to Russia from Argentina, where it is bottled under license at a local facility.
In January-February 2026, thanks in part to the active development of parallel imports and localized production, Bacardi and Pernod Ricard retail sales in Russia increased by more than 20% year-on-year.
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