Spirit producers bemoan ban on alcohol export

Prague, Sept 20 (CTK) - Czech liquor producers are disappointed by an across-the-board ban on exports of hard alcohol announced by the Health Minister tonight, Vladimir Darebnik, vice-president of the Czech Union of Spirits Producers and Importers, said on Czech Television.

Darebnik, who is also operations director of Jan Becher - Karlovarska Becherovka, said the government had ignored the union's proposals of how to guarantee the alcohol quality.

Health Minister Leos Heger announced tonight after 19:30 an immediate ban on Czech exports of spirits with more than 20 percent of alcohol.

Prime Minister Petr Necas said the cabinet acted faster than the EU which wanted to ban exports from the Czech Republic for up to two months. The Czech Republic will now be able to remove the barriers to the export itself, Necas said at a press conference.

The solution to the situation has been dragged out, according to the union.

"Now we must analyse all what has been said and the consequences," said Darebnik.

The government's decision runs counter to the producers' previous statements, according to him.

The union will make public its stance at a press conference on Friday.

The ban on alcohol exports will cause big losses to the companies as up to 40 percent of their output has been exported.

"We are losing volumes in both physical and financial terms ... The losses are worth millions of crowns a day, which means they are growing every day," said Darebnik. These are the losses of the producers as well as of the state budget, he added. For now it is premature to think about any compensations or court disputes, however, according to him.

Data from the Czech Statistical Office show that Czech export of liquor with up to 80 percent alcohol content amounted to Kc1bn last year and export of over 80 percent ethyl alcohol stood at Kc300m targeting mainly Slovakia, Germany and Poland.