Stocks of Russian vodka are running out, say suppliers.
Posted on 02/04/2006 5:47:19 AM PST by Cagey
MOSCOW, Russia (Reuters) -- Russians could suffer a shortage of their national tipple next week because a bureaucratic mix-up has brought every vodka distillery in the country to a halt, producers say.
Distillers have been waiting since January 1 for tax authorities to send them new excise stamps -- the anti-counterfeit stickers that by law must be attached to every bottle of vodka.
"We are selling vodka left over from last year but those stocks are getting smaller all the time," said Vera Bragina, a spokeswoman for Russia's Smirnov Trading House.
"The situation is pretty much under control but if in the next week or so (we do not receive the stamps) then there will be problems," she added. "There is a threat (to supplies)."
Each Russian consumes 14 liters of alcohol a year -- most of it in the form of neat vodka, consumed in the traditional style by draining the glass in one gulp.
It is illegal to produce or sell vodka without an excise stamp that corresponds to the year in which it was produced.
New excise rules that came into force on January 1 led to confusion among officials about the procedure for issuing distillers with new stamps.
Because of that, no new stamps left the Federal Tax Service's warehouses until January 31 -- a month late. But by Friday some vodka producers had still not received them.
"We ... do not have the new excise stamps at the factory," said Bragina. "There is talk that maybe by Monday they will get the stamps but we have heard that before."
There have been no vodka shortages in shops because producers have used their reserves to keep them supplied.
(Excerpt) Read more at edition.cnn.com ...
Stocks of Russian vodka are running out, say suppliers.
Oh the humanity!
bttt heads up
Either it's civil war (the Russians need their vodka) or someone (in the Kremlin) is making a lot of money with fake and stolen excise stamps.
If 2006 was a good year for vodka, we'd never know it
Maybe the bureaucrats had too much vodka.
Windfall profits on existing stocks, anyone?
(just kidding - I preferred Absolut)
A completely sobor Rusky is an unhappy person. One with no prospects of a buzz is potentially dangerous. (Not an insult, me too.)
Hopefully they are rationing the remaining supplys so that police, nuke plant operators and bus drivers will still be able to function.
They just have to make sure the remaining supplys are saved for 'critical personel'.
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