Neil Smith, Ukraine and Russia Investor, Comments on Trends in Russia - Press Release - Digital Journal

Neil Smith, Ukraine and Russia Investor, Comments on Trends in Russia - Press Release - Digital Journal:

"Neil Smith Ukraine and Russia investor and owner of Eastern Beverage Company, is paying close attention to the Russian market as vodka production is impacted by black market activity. With one of the divisions of his company (Russian Vodka Holding) based in Russia, Smith is extremely interested in how sales of black market vodka are affecting his organization's revenue. Although a recent article published by RT.com cites a dip in legal vodka production by 30 percent, Smith reports that activity at the Eastern Beverage Company is strong due to a solid leadership structure and modern production techniques.
According to the article, "Production volumes have been declining since the beginning of the year, business daily Kommersant reports. The drop was 30.3 percent in January, 25.8 percent in February, 22.1 percent in March, and 17.9 percent in April. Spirits producers attributed the decline to large stocks made at the end of 2012 before a record increase in the excise tax, according to Kommersant [...] The illegal market has been boosted by smuggled vodka from neighboring Kazakhstan, part of the Customers Union, says the vice president of the Russian Standard Igor Kosarev.""

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