Illicit alcohol accounts for 63% of Vietnam consumption

Illicit and unregulated alcohol accounts for 63% of consumption in Vietnam, said Nguyen Van Viet, chairman of the Vietnam Alcohol-Beer-Beverage Association (VBA).

Such problems have led to socioeconomic impacts on consumers, businesses, and the state budget, while the current legal framework has yet to fully address the issue, Viet added at a Tuesday roundtable hosted by the VBA and the Wine & Spirits Sector Committee of EuroCham.

Nguyen Duc Le, an official from the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Vietnam Directorate of Market Surveillance, noted high profits from the illegal trade of alcoholic products and consumer willingness to purchase items without relevant certificates have led to these troubles.

He added that in 2022, the force dealt with 336 violations related to wine and issued penalties of VND4.27 billion ($182,200), and 101 wrongdoings related to beer with penalties of VND1.1 billion ($47,100).

There are 548,000 deaths or so annually in Vietnam, of which nearly 40,000 cases, or over 7%, are related to alcohol consumption, according to the Ministry of Health.

A Ministry of Industry and Trade report showed that Vietnamese people consumed 300 million liters of wine and spirit annually, of which only 15-20% are regulated.

Beer production posted a growth of 35.3%, the highest among all industrial sectors, to 6.11 billion liters in 2022, according to the General Statistics Office.