Page 5 - IAV Digital Magazine #541

Will A Ban On Vodka Work As A Protest Against Russia?
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has announced that it has directed the Fine Wine & Good Spirits stores and its website to stop buying and selling Russian-sourced products in protest of Russia’s inva- sion of Ukraine.
Liquor stores across the United States and Canada have been throwing out their Russian vodka stocks in a show of protest against Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine since Thursday.
Peter
Bethlenfalvy, the finance minister of Canada's Ontario, directed the Liquor Control Board to have the province's stores
remove Russian Vodka and in Ontario alone, all products produced in Russia will be removed from 679 stores.
So far, officials in Ohio, Utah and New Hampshire have called on liquor stores to remove Russian- made or Russian- branded products from shelves, a move that largely targets vodka since it's most closely associated with the country.
These moves are largely symbolic — and may even miss their intend- ed target — as very few brands imported to the United States still produce the liquor in Russia.
Many of the top-
selling vodka brands that trace their origins to Russia are now distilled in multiple countries — including the United States
.Less than 1% of vodka consumed in the United States is produced in Russia. In fact, more than half of all vodka con- sumed domesti- cally is actually made here, according to data from IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, a global firm that tracks alcohol sales.
Vodka imported from Russia has been on the decline for several years, and is down 79% since 2011, DISCUS said.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine