Distillers Complain over Low Alcohol Sales
According to producers, declining sales of strong drinks point to the growing market share of bootleg alcohol.
The data presented by the Alcoholic Beverages Producers Association show that during eight months of 2010, 6.97 million liters of strong alcohol were sold in Estonia - a million liters less than last year. Chairman of the association Janek Kalvi sees this as a sign of a growing black market for alcohol.
However, the producers' claims were not confirmed by the Tax and Customs Board. Urmas Järg, head of the agency's customs division, said that excise tax receipts have been almost the same as last year's, and the shipments checked out of excise warehouses have been comparable. Järg also said he didn't believe that there is a large-scale market for illegal alcohol imports over the Russian border.
Marje Josing, Director of the Institute of Economic Research, cited two main factors possibly at work, as reliable data on illegal alcohol consumption are not currently available. She said the general societal trends suggest that grey economy may be gaining ground, especially in the northeastern region of the country, where unemployment is highest and illegal alcohol may have become a temptation.
On the other hand, she said, people's purchasing power has declined and Nordic experience shows that this has an effect of reducing alcohol consumption. "When we look at the rapidly growing food prices, we see that people have to make choices constantly," said Josing.