News

Estonians brace for alcohol retail price spike

20 July 2026 By Jessica Mason

Estonia’s new alcohol licence fees are due to affect drinks retailing. But will store owners avoid the cost or simply pass it onto customers?

Estonia’s new alcohol licence fees are due to affect drinks retailing. But will store owners avoid the cost or simply pass it onto customers?

Retailers across Estonia are facing the introduction of a new fee for alcohol licences that are set to reduce the number of outlets selling beer, wine and spirits.

At present, around 10,000 alcohol sales licences have been issued across Estonia with the number having increased in recent years. In fact, according to the Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR), 90% of Estonian’s can reach a store that sells alcohol within 10 minutes of their homes, reflecting the expansion of the country’s off-trade which has been catering for high demand and positioning itself for local convenience.

Despite these wins for the sector, the expansion has captured the attention of the World Health Organisation (WHO) which has now recommended using paid sales licences to reduce the number of sales outlets – a move that the Ministry of Social Affairs is now considering.

The knock-on effect

The fees are anticipated to have the knock on effect on the sector, reducing alcohol availability on such a broad scale while also assisting to push up prices for consumers as retailers pass on the costs or leverage the attraction of their drinks stock availability.

Examples of the impact of the fees were outlined by the ERR, which highlighted instances where Leesi village shop in Juminda, which is a cooperative founded by local residents, is known for selling everyday items. According to the ERR, Leesi’s current alcohol sales account for up to 30% of sales, but if the new alcohol licence laws are passed, the store managers will need to pay the fee and if the price of drinks rises, the concern is that people may begin to seek out lower prices via illegitimate means.

Leesi board member Ants Viirmaa said that although little will change if the fee is “symbolic” if it is not, it could have an “impact” and there could also be a danger of how people come by their alcohol.

Viirmaa said: “Every tax is always ultimately reflected in the final price. If it becomes very high, it will certainly have an impact. It will be added to the price of the bottle, and the danger here is that if the price of the bottle becomes too high, then alcohol will simply, figuratively speaking, move from the shop to behind the shop,” he said.

Squeezing out the independent retail sector

Rikets Flowers CEO Getriin Hermlin who sells alcohol as a side business alongside floristry, explained that for a flower shop chain, alcohol is an insignificant side business and is only available as a matter of giftability since customers may want to add a bottle of wine to a bouquet ordered from the online shop. But, if the alcohol sales licence becomes commercially unprofitable, the outlet would rather not be penalised for the convenience and instead would simply stop selling alcohol.

Hermlin said: “It depends on what is decided, for what amount, and how much bureaucracy comes with it. If it is very complicated and expensive, then there is no point in my doing it.”

Although Hermlin identified that this wouldn’t seem like it might affect the business much, it “will certainly” impact people’s decisions on where they buy their other items.

She explained that there will always be “certain customers who choose somewhere else” and added that “whether it is Selver, where they can pick up that bouquet of tulips and a bottle of Champagne at the same time” Hermlin pointed out that what the WHO does not understand is that it impacts independent businesses and “the power then goes into the hands of the large retail chains”.

Stricter conditions will need to be met to obtain licences

The plan is for an analysis to be completed on what kind of sales licence system would be suitable for Estonia by the end of the year. In fact, the Ministry of Social Affairs suggested that the licence fees might tackle the proliferation of alcohol sales and also assist in authortiees being able to oversee the situation in a more controlled way.

Speaking about the reasoning behind the fees, Ministry of Social Affairs advisor Kristiin Mikko added: “There is a system where, if an establishment wants to open a shop in an area where there are already shops selling alcohol, then, for example, it is more expensive. That is because the density is already so high, and there are systems where certain conditions have to be met in order to obtain one at all.”

The winery betting on the ‘next chapter’ for cool-climate Australian wine

Goedhuis Waddesdon: ‘there is appetite for fine wine among the younger generation’