Prices for beer, wine and hard liquor will go up due to the increased excise rates.
Since January 1, the excise rates on spirits with more than 9% ethyl alcohol content rose to RUR 554 ($9) per liter and to RUR 435 per liter for spirits with less than 9% ethyl alcohol content. Excise rates reached RUR 22 per liter for beer and beer-like drinks with 0.5%-8.6% ethyl alcohol content. “The increase of excise rates will lead to an increase of average prices of beer by 0.8%, wine by 3.5% and hard liquor by 1.2%,” the Central Bank’s report says. Gasoline and cigarette prices will also rise, by 0.7% and 1.4%, respectively.