OREANDA-NEWS  The introduction of increased duties on wine imports from unfriendly countries last year did not limit their import from countries such as France and Spain, moreover, supplies even increased, Maxim Chmora, head of the Department of Federal Customs Revenue and Tariff Regulation of the Federal Customs Service of Russia, said during the "Russian Retail Week 2024" on Monday.

"With regard to Italian wines, this measure worked and began to import less. But the Spanish and French suppliers reacted calmly to this decision, it did not, in fact, have any effect on the volume of imported products, they even increased the volume of imported products," he said.

According to the presentation, Italy still retains the leadership in supplies from unfriendly countries, but its share is decreasing, the share of Spanish wines and French wines is growing. Portugal and Germany are also among the top 5 suppliers from this category of countries.

In total, the share of unfriendly countries in wine imports to the Russian Federation is estimated at 64%.

As a result of the increase in duties, customs payments in January-May of this year increased 4.2 times compared to the same period last year, to 16.5 billion rubles against 3.9 billion rubles. But supplies from these countries decreased by only 17-18%.

In general, according to the Federal Customs Service, the geography of suppliers of imported wines in the Russian Federation has not changed in recent years, "despite the decisions taken," Chmora said. Italy is leading by a significant margin, followed by Georgia, Spain, France, Portugal, and all these states retain their leading positions this year, he noted.

Since August 2023, the Russian Federation has imposed an increased duty on wine imports from unfriendly countries - in the amount of 20%, but not less than $ 1.5 per liter (until August 1, 2023, duties ranged from 10% to 12.5%). The increased duty is still valid until the end of this year.

Meanwhile, the issue of a sharp increase in duties - up to 200% - is being discussed. "The issue of increasing customs duties is currently being discussed. Of course, every such issue has both supporters and opponents. You can radically increase the duty, you can set it at 100% or 200%. But we must understand that in the presence of unsubstituted domestic demand, these products will be in demand and will still enter the market," Chmora said.