12.5% 20% 26%. In 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture raised the customs duty on wines from unfriendly countries from 12.5% to 20% (at least 1.5 dollars per liter), in 2024 - to 26% of the customs value (at least 2 dollars per liter). Now Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut is preparing a third approach:
"We hope to get another increase in such tariffs to reduce wine imports from unfriendly countries."
Every time - under the same slogan. Protection of local producers.
Let's see how the mechanism works. The duty raises the shelf price of the import, and this creates a price umbrella (an imported bottle becomes more expensive, and the local producer has the opportunity to raise his price tag to exactly a new level without losing market share). Therefore, after each increase, both imported and local wine became more expensive. The consumption ratio remained almost unchanged. The retail buyer pays. Two people make money - the budget from the duty itself and the local winemaker from the increased margin.
The manufacturer's defense is actually just another excuse. Redistributing money from the consumer's wallet in favor of customs and local businesses does not increase competitiveness. Imports do not decrease, prices increase for everyone, which means that the reason for the fourth increase will appear by itself.
We will add that in recent years many worthy wines have appeared in Russia, which can compete on equal terms with imported samples. But there are almost none in the mass sector, and it is precisely this segment that will be harmed by the tariff increase. As a result, the wine on the shelves will remain the same, but more expensive.