Russian importers want to bring in beer from the Dominican Republic

Russia | Propaganda, misinformation or fake news? According to the Russian newssite Kommersant (10 March), Russian importers want to bring in beer from the Dominican Republic. This decision was made against the backdrop of a tenfold increase in duties on beer from “unfriendly” countries, like the EU.

Kommersant reports that one of the first companies to apply to the state agency Rosaccreditation for a licence to import the popular Caribbean beer brand Presidente was Mirovoi Trader. The firm, allegedly a major importer, has – allegedly again – been granted the licence already.

The reason to import beer from exotic countries appears plausible enough: beer imports from “unfriendly countries” have become almost prohibitively expensive. Import duties on beer were hiked from EUR 0.10 to EUR 1.00 (USD 1.10) per litre at the beginning of this year.

An inexpensive import beer, provided you can get it, now costs RUB 160 (USD 1.95) per bottle, which is roughly 50 percent above the price of a domestic premium or licensed brand, Russian media report. As a result, Russian importers have turned to more exotic beers, either from Vietnam or China, to bypass the duties.

“No commercial relationship”

Funnily enough, two days later, on 15 March, the unnamed brewer, which is no other than Cerveceria Nacional Dominicana (CND), denied any knowledge of such a plan.

CND’s Legal and Corporate Affairs Manager, Ana María Martínez, was quoted as saying that CND has no commercial relationship with Mirovoi Trader and does not export Presidente beer to Russia. Ms Martínez emphasised that the brewery does not engage in any business with distributors in that market, either directly or indirectly.

AB-InBev dispossessed in Russia

It would have surprised observers if CND had entered into business relations with a Russian importer at this stage. After all, CND is majority-owned by AmBev, which, in turn, is controlled by AB-InBev.

The world’s major brewer, at the end of December 2024, lost control of its Russian joint venture with Anadolu Efes, after President Vladimir Putin handed it over to a local company. AB-InBev had planned to exit Russia by transferring ownership of the business to its Turkish partner. Now it looks as if the business will be in Russian hands indefinitely.

The whole Presidente import affair could be seen as yet another case of adding insult to injury. But since the denial was issued by CND rather than AmBev, it indicates that AB-InBev is trying to keep the whole thing low key for the time being.