OREANDA-NEWS  Official sales of vodka and cognac in Russia have fallen sharply, with reference to Rosstat data, the Vedomosti newspaper reports.

In the first half of 2023, the volume of vodka sales decreased by 16.4 percent, to 30.2 million decaliters (dal), and cognac and brandy - by 20.3 percent to 3.7 million dal. At the same time, the production of vodka fell by 9 percent, to 33.2 million decaliters, cognac and brandy — by 13 percent, to 4.2 million decaliters.

According to Nikolay Bespalov, RNC Pharma Development Director, such a drop is explained by the growth of the illegal market. A number of foreign producers of high-quality alcohol left Russia, so wholesale suppliers began to replace them with counterfeit and work with shadow producers, added Sultan Khamzaev, leader of the All-Russian movement "Sober Russia".