Russian federal authorities to make major change to alcohol storage regulations

2010-07-29

In accordance with the recent amendments made to existing legislation by the State Duma, with effect from 1 January 2011, all distributors of alcoholic beverages are required to have their own warehouses measuring at least 1,000 m². At present, only around one-third of alcohol resellers have their own warehouses, with the more popular option being to use rented premises. The changes to legislation have been implemented as a means of combating the illegal resale of alcohol. This new legislation may have a noticeable impact on the price of warehouse and storage space. At present, one square metre of class-A warehouse space costs $1,100 (€860). The change is unlikely to be applied to distributors of wine as, at present, even the largest resellers have no need for any more than 400-600 m². It is possible though, that with effect from 2013, a similar requirement may be imposed on producers of spirits, however the minimum storage area has not yet been defined.