Absolut Vodka, the Swedish flagship brand of the French group Pernod Ricard, announced on Tuesday that will halt exports to Russia. The company had discreetly resumed exports, sparking a boycott and drawing criticism from the Prime Minister in Sweden.
The Absolut Company, which produces one of the world’s best-selling vodkas, “has decided to stop exporting its brand to Russia” with “immediate effect”, the company said in a statement, citing the need to protect employees and partners from “massive criticism in all its forms”.
Contacted by AFP, a Pernod Ricard spokesman said the decision concerned “only” Absolut and not the other brands of the French group, which is the world’s second-largest spirits company.
Last week, the group confirmed that it had resumed alcohol exports to Russia after initially suspending them because of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The decision drew strong criticism from senior politicians in Sweden, including Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson who voiced his “real disappointment”.
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Pernod Ricard, which has owned the Swedish vodka since 2008, justified the decision to re-export by saying it was trying to protect its employees in Russia and to counter Moscow’s decision to allow “parallel imports of alcohol without the permission of authorised importers, thus circumventing the sanctions”.
But the Swedish public were not convinced and several bars and restaurants withdrew Pernod Ricard products from their menus. Grain suppliers also threatened to stop supplying their raw materials.
The new export halt “will unfortunately not prevent Absolut from falling into the hands of the parallel market, which has increased sharply in recent months and over which we have no control”, the vodka brand argued.
