Page 19 - RusRPTJul24

At the same time, the largest vodka brands in terms of sales last year were Smirnoff of the British company Diageo, Tito's handmade of the American Tito's and Absolut, owned by the French company Pernod Ricard. Their sales amounted to 26 million nine-liter cases, or 23.4 million decaliters (-7% by 2022), 12.2 cases, or 10.9 million decaliters (+5%), and 11.9 million cases, or 10 .7 million decaliters (-8.5%), respectively.
The Russian brands “Tsarskaya” and “Belaya Berezka” took only 21st and 23rd places in the ranking in terms of sales volumes.
The owner of the Kaufman brand agency, Stanislav Kaufman, states that relative to foreign companies, domestic manufacturers have “meager volumes” of product sales abroad. According to him, the main markets for Russian vodka, in addition to the home market, are the USA, Great Britain, and Germany. But now, due to sanctions, deliveries to European countries and the United States are impossible, he recalls. Domestic vodka producers supply it to the countries of Asia, Africa, and the CIS, adds Vadim Drobiz, director of the Center for Research of Federal and Regional Alcohol Markets (CIFRRA). But, for example, in China, India, and Arab countries there is no culture and traditions of drinking this drink, so it is almost impossible to significantly increase sales in these countries, notes Kaufman.
According to CIFRRA, vodka exports from Russia over the past two years (2022 and 2023) have fallen threefold - from 60 million to 20 million liters. Now Russian producers are focusing on the local market, since for our country this drink is “traditional and always in demand” and its sales remain stable, says Drobiz. In the first quarter of 2024, retail sales of vodka in Russia increased by 1.6% compared to the same period last year and amounted to 18.4 million decaliters, according to data from Rosalkogoltabakkontrol.
At the same time, according to Drobiz, the consumption of strong alcoholic beverages is growing abroad. Russian vodka will regain its popularity on the world market after winning the special operation, he says.
The British magazine Drinks International annually publishes a world ranking of alcoholic beverages called The Millionaire's Club. It includes brands of strong alcohol whose sales exceed 9 million liters (1 million nine-liter cases) per year. The 2024 ranking includes 155 brands of strong alcohol – vodka, gin, brandy, whiskey, tequila, and rum. Of these, 38 are vodka brands, which together account for 156 million cases sold in the world at the end of 2023.
2.6 Putin in Pyongyang
It was announced that Putin would make a “friendly state visit” to Pyongyang on June 18-19. Russia and North Korea have become increasingly close since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, often publicly praising their growing ties. Ahead of his visit, Putin wrote an article for North Korean state media titled “Russia and the DPRK: traditions of friendship and cooperation through the years.” “We highly appreciate the DPRK firmly supporting the Russian special military operation being conducted in Ukraine,” he wrote.
19 RUSSIA Country Report July 2024 www.intellinews.com