Brewers in Russia are to scrap their 1.5-litre PET bottle lines, despite warning the move will drive consumers to illegal alcohol. The Union of Russian Brewers, which represents companies including Heineken and Carlsberg, said its members will voluntarily discontinue the bottle sizes from 1 July 2016. The total Russian market share of beer affected is around 24%, according to Nielsen figures. The deal follows a voluntary agreement from January 2014 to scrap 2.5-litre plastic bottles and and 2-litre bottles with beer over 6% abv. However, the union said there are no objective reasons for limiting bottle sizes and that it is "counteractive" to recent government attempts to lower alcohol consumption. PET packaging for beer is common in Russia and is used across many different brands and sizes by all players.
