Russia will make vodka cheaper next year after a campaign to fight alcoholism through higher prices drove some consumers to switch to bootleg spirits.
Starting in February, the minimum retail price will drop 16 percent to $3.24 per half-liter bottle.
President Vladimir Putin said last week that overly high alcohol prices lead consumers to switch to contraband, frustrating the government’s plan to combat alcoholism. That was the same reasoning that led the government to scrap a alcohol tax increase this year.
Official vodka production fell 17 percent in January through November this year, according to Federal Service of State Statistics.
“Russian vodka prices are already the world’s highest relative to people’s incomes, and real incomes are declining,” said Vadim Drobiz, head of Ciffra, an alcoholic-beverage market researcher.
