Sale of alcoholic drinks in bottles of less than 750 millilitres will be illegal if Parliament approves a proposed law that will trigger an increase in the prices of beer and spirits and put the drinks out of the reach of a majority of the youth.
The Bill seeks to increase the minimum bottle size from the current 250 millilitres in efforts to curb the sale of alcoholic drinks in small packages that have been blamed for fuelling consumption among the youth.
If passed, firms like East Africa Breweries Limited will be forced to order for fresh bottles, rejig their production lines and increase the average cost of beer from the current Sh190 to at least Sh285 a bottle.
“The principal object of this Bill is to amend the Alcoholic Drinks Control Act, in order to ensure that packaging of alcoholic drinks are in quantities not below 750 millilitres,” says the Bill, which has been tabled in Parliament and set for debate.
“This is in order to deal with the menace of excessive drinking occasioned by the sale of very low quantities of alcoholic drinks, making it accessible to the youth,” adds the Bill sponsored by Wundanyi Member of Parliament Danson Mwakuwona.
Spirit brands like Kane Extra, Bluemoon and Hunters Choice are packaged in small quantities of 250 millilitres with prices ranging between Sh190 and Sh230, making them popular among low-income earners and the youth.
The lowest quantities of beer brands like Tusker Lite and Tuborg are packaged in 350 millilitres and sell at an average of Sh190 per bottle.
The proposed law looks set to make Kenya’s packaging threshold one of the highest and could force glass makers and brewers to rejig their production lines in a multimillion-shilling revamp to accommodate the larger bottles.
Those in breach of the packaging rule face a fine of Sh50,000, a jail term of six months or both, says the Bill.
EABL on Monday said that the new packaging rule will make alcohol expensive for low-income earners and hit the listed firm that is struggling to navigate restrictions imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19.
“Our volumes will drop because even now we have the 750 ml brands but the sales are low. Beer and the spirits will be inaccessible to low-income Kenyans. Even now, most people will buy the quarter (250 ml) and share so who will afford the 750 ml?” EABL spokesperson told the Business […]