Russian alcohol sales fall 2% as beer declines and cider expands

Largest categories lose volume

Russian retail alcohol sales declined by 2% year on year in January–August 2026, but the headline figure concealed a much wider divergence between product categories. According to Rosalkogoltabakkontrol data reported by Logistics.ru, retailers sold 613.5 million decalitres of alcoholic beverages during the eight-month period. August sales fell 2.1% to 85.7 million decalitres.

Fermented beverages declined by 2.4% to 481.8 million decalitres. Beer, the market’s largest category by volume, fell 2.6% to 408.9 million decalitres, while beer-based drinks dropped 4.1% to 63.5 million decalitres. Still wine sales decreased by 2.7%, and cognac sales were down 2.4%. The figures show that moderate weakness in high-volume categories is driving the overall market contraction.

Cider outpaces the market from a small base

Several categories moved in the opposite direction. Spirits increased by 11%, sparkling wine by 4.3% and mead by 8.7%. Cider recorded the fastest sustained expansion among the growing fermented drinks, rising 25.1% to 7.25 million decalitres. Mead reached 2.1 million decalitres over the same period, while its August sales increased 19.3% year on year.

The growth rates do not erase the large difference in scale. Beer sales exceeded 408 million decalitres in the first eight months, making cider many times smaller and mead smaller still. Daniil Briman, chairman of the Union of Russian Brewers and chief executive of Suzdalsky Pivovar, attributed the rapid percentage growth of cider and mead partly to a low comparison base. He said mead remained an exotic drink for many Russian consumers.

Growth is not broad-based across fermented drinks

The data do not indicate a general shift toward all lighter or fermented products. Fruit-based alcoholic products fell 35.2%, low-alcohol products declined 57.5%, and perry also recorded a decrease. Cider’s performance therefore reflects demand in a specific category rather than a broad expansion of fermented beverages.

Igor Khavsky, co-owner of distributor SVAM Group and Gletcher brewery, linked demand for cider and mead to consumer interest in flavoured alcoholic drinks. He also said greater retail availability can generate strong percentage growth in small categories. In his view, mead’s August jump may have been situational, potentially reflecting a producer entering a major retail chain. Over eight months, cider’s 25.1% gain appears more consistent than mead’s 8.7% increase.

Prices and sales channels add pressure

Industry participants linked weaker beer sales partly to higher prices. Khavsky cited a heavier fiscal burden, an excise increase and the cost of implementing information systems. Briman also pointed to taxes and inflation, estimating that consumers react even when the price of an individual product rises by only 5–10 rubles. The available data, however, do not demonstrate that beer drinkers are switching directly to cider or mead.

Sales channels are also diverging. Russian restaurants reduced alcohol sales by 42.4% to 818,300 decalitres in the first half of 2026. Khavsky associated that fall with weaker restaurant traffic and lower average spending on alcohol. For producers and distributors, the split means that the national decline of 2% is of limited use on its own: planning increasingly depends on the specific category, retail presence and exposure to HoReCa.