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Analysis
Vodka sales falling in central and eastern Europe
The spirits market in many countries of Central and Eastern Europe is now declining as drinkers turn their attention to beer and wine. In Poland last year, around PLN450m (EUR110m) less was spent on hard liquor than in 2010. This is a trend which is likely to continue.
The fall in consumption is blamed on the recession by those working in the industry but it is more likely to be a long term trend along lines which have been seen in other countries as consumers vary the amount of products they buy without consuming more.
Vodka producers are likely to resort to methods to make their products stand out more on the shelf, such as more appealing packaging for those at the top end of the market. Those at the bottom end are more likely to compete on price and price wars are likely to take place.
One area where there have been more sales - but this bears out the trend of seeking new products - is in flavoured vodkas. Last year sales increased by 2.7 per cent and could reach one quarter of all vodka sales this year. This is not such a bad thing for the vodka producers as flavoured vodkas tend to have a much larger profit margin!
The average Pole consumes around eight litres of spirits per year, compared to five litres in western Europe.
