Russia: Union of Russian Beer Manufacturers seeks increase of railway transportation deadline for beer up to 25 days

It became known lately that the Open Corporation “Russian Railways” with the telegram dated from 31.10.05 #VÌ-10580 did allow transportation of pasteurized beer on special conditions for the period from November 15, 2005 to March 31, 2006 in own boxcars, and the transportation deadline was set at 15 days, the Union of Russian Brewers announced lately.

On September 23 the Union of Russian Beer Manufacturers had addressed the governance of “Russian Railways” with a proposal to establish the deadline for pasteurized beer transportation during winter to 25 days, and to remove the beer from perishable cargo category where it had been entered in violation of Sanitary Rules and Regulations in force.

We shall remind that in November 2004 the Open Corporation “Russian Railways” with its telegram had reduced the beer transportation deadline to 10 days. The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service had declared the given decision to be contradictory with the antimonopoly legislation and had demanded its repeal. Later on this position was confirmed by the Arbitration Court of Moscow city.

The brewing industry of Russia is one of the largest consumers of railway transportation services: not less than 40% of the beer manufactured in Russia reaches the customer exactly by railway.

’Fifteen days - it’s not at all sufficient, taking into consideration the geographical vastness of our country’, comments on the decision of “Russian Railways” Mr. Vyacheslav Mamontov, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Union of Russian Beer Manufacturers.

Moreover, the mere fact of categorization of pasteurized beer as perishable cargo is exceptionable, in our opinion. In accordance with Sanitary Rules and Regulations issued by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, the beer falls into the category of non-perishable food products and its storage period lasts from 3 months to 1 year, while the sanitary-epidemiological conclusions issued by the authorities of the Ministry of Health provide evidence on the length of preservation of the sanitary-epidemiological indices of beer (from 3 months up to 1 year), with no special storage conditions. In this connection, we shall seek the exclusion of pasteurized beer from the category of perishable goods and thereafter, increase of railway transportation deadlines for beer

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