Sales of alcohol in restaurants and retail outlets declined by 63% in April in Ukraine, amidst the growing conflict in the country.
According to a report in Forbes.ua, sales of hard alcohol fell the most (-75%) in this period, the report said citing data from analytics company Pro-Consulting.
Last year, the volume of alcohol sales amounted to UAH 68 billion (€2.1 billion).
This decline in alcohol sales was also confirmed by specialised networks WineTime and GoodWine the report noted.
According to WineTime, revenue in April decreased by two to three times, depending on the region, while GoodWine earned only a third of its pre-war turnover last month.
WineTime operates across 14 regions in Ukraine, while GoodWine operates in Kyiv.
The report also noted that people gave up sparkling wine and rum and switched to vodka.
Sales of vodka across WineTime's network increased by 20% in April, while sparkling wine sales fell 4-5 times, and gin, tequila and rum fell by a third, as people moved to cheaper drinks.
WineTime also predicted that in three to five months, retail stores will increase the volume of cheaper drinks by 20%.
Sales Ban
The ban on alcohol sales in Ukraine due to the war had a serious impact on trade, the report noted.
There was a complete ban on the sales of alcohol at the end of February. At the end of March, an easing of restrictions began as a 'dry law' was repealed in the central regions, followed by the west.
On 1 April, the ban was lifted in Kyiv, with strong alcohol sales allowed only until 16:00.
However, the ban on alcohol sales remains in place for Lviv, as well as the Chernihiv region.
Local authorities have justified the ban by saying that they do not want to allow drunken provocations or conflicts, according to the report.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest Drinks news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
