Russian Brewers Ask Economy Ministry To Reconsider Duties For Aluminum Cans

The Russian Union of Brewers is going to send letters to the Ministry for Economic Development and Trade and the Antimonopoly Ministry asking them to reconsider an increase in import duties for aluminum cans. Brewers estimated a decision on this rise as a violation of the antimonopoly regulations and asked to set these duties at 10 per cent. The Union of Brewers sent similar letters to Economy Minister German Gref and Antimonopoly minister Ilya Yuzhanov earlier. It is worth mentioning that according to a government's decree passed on November 30, 2001 duties for aluminum cans were raised to 20 per cent but no less than 41 euros per 1000 cans starting on January 1, 2002. Meanwhile, combined with other duties payments for imported can will go up to 40 per cent. Russian beer producers stressed that this situation inflicts damage to the state and to the development of market relations between various industries.