Russians are guzzling vodka like never before, even as exports of Russia’s national beverage are drying up. Kazakhstan is now the only large market left for Russian-produced vodka.
Economic sanctions, of course, have played a major role in pushing Russian vodka exports off a financial cliff. Gross income generated from Russian vodka exports amounted to$34.6 million in 2024, the official RIA Novosti news agency reports. That is down from$168.3 million in earnings recorded in 2021, the year before Russia launched its full-on invasion of Ukraine, prompting the imposition of far-reaching trade restrictions by the United States and European Union.
Kazakhstan accounted for over 92 percent of Russian vodka exports in 2024, totaling $32 million. China was the next highest importer in terms of sales, with $1.5 million. Turkey, South Korea and Latvia rounded out the top five importing countries.
A 2023Interfax report cited Russian beverage industry executives as predicting Russia could achieve annual vodka export totals of $180 million or more in the coming years, offsetting the sanctions-connected loss of markets in the US and Europe with increased sales to “friendly countries,” including China, Turkey, India and Vietnam.
However, the data shows that the Russian experts must have been drunk on their own supplies when making such prognostications.
Distillers in Russia are not exactly distressed by the dearth of exports. Booming domestic demand is keeping them busy enough. The Moscow Timesreported that during the first 10 months of 2024, Russians consumed a record volume of vodka – 625 million liters, or more than four liters for every man, woman and child in the country.
That is a lot of shots.