ASTANA – Alcohol sales in Kazakhstan declined across three of four major beverage categories in January-August, with cognac sales down 41.9% and wine sales down 12% amid rising prices and shifting consumer spending patterns, according to the Bureau of National Statistics.
Photo credit: AI created image/ The Astana Times Beer sales fell 5% year on year, while vodka sales rose 4.5%, suggesting a possible shift toward lower-priced alcoholic beverages. The decline has affected domestic production and imports. Cognac production fell 41.9% to 5.2 million liters, while imports dropped 41.5%.
Domestic producers maintained a 78.5% market share, reported Energyprom.kz, an analytical website on Nov. 4. Wine production decreased by 17.2%, while imports fell by just 2.2%, raising the share of foreign products in market resources from 35.2% to 39%. Beer production declined 6% to 445 million liters, below domestic sales of 482.3 million liters.
Imports consequently increased their market share from 10% to 10.4%. Beer exports also fell by 22.6%. Household spending on alcoholic beverages declined by 4% in the first half of this year, continuing a downward trend. Meanwhile, alcohol prices increased by 14.8% year on year in September.
Beer recorded the sharpest price increase at 16.9%, followed by wine at 12.8% and vodka at 11%.