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Drinks

One Third of Czech Wine Market Illegal

By square1
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One Third of Czech Wine Market Illegal

The Czech Wine market is flooded by bootleg spirits, leading winemaker Bohemia Sekt says.

In an interview with the Czech news agency ?TK, Bohemia Sekt’s marketing and sales director, Petr ?erný said that between 20 and 30 percent of wine consumed in the Czech Republic comes from the black market.

“The quality of such wine is often terrible and the product is sometimes a chemical compound rather than wine,” Bohemia Sekt’s marketing and sales director, Petr ?erný said. He added that most of illegal, untaxed wine is sold on tap in street kiosks, tobacco shops and similar establishments countrywide.

Since 2010, the volume of wine sold in the Czech Republic has dropped by 40 per cent, according to data compiled by Nielsen. However, Bohemia Sekt CEO says that overall sales have certainly not registered such a major decrease. Instead, wine is increasingly sold through illegal channels. “Another way of getting untaxed wine to the Czech market is undeclared imports of poor quality products that are sold as relatively attractive local varieties, mainly Pinot Gris and Pálava,” Bohemia Sekt CEO Ond?ej Beránek (pictured) told the ?TK news agency.

The Czech food inspection authority has made efforts to curb the illegal wine trade, according to Radio Prague.  Inspectors have recently discovered hundreds of unregistered establishments selling wine. Bohemia Sekt managers say however the black market could be considerably diminished by only allowing retailers to sell wine from disposable containers certified by producers.

© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article written by László Juhász

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