Belorussian brewers insist that a separate technical regulation must be developed which will contain requirements applicable specifically for beer.
Currently, beer is to be governed by draft Technical Regulation on the Safety of Alcohol Products. When this regulation enters into force, the beer will be treated in the same way as all other alcoholic drinks, which, in turn, means that all restrictions such as licensing, state supervision of supply and the advertising prohibitions will also apply to beer.
This, as the Belorussian brewers say, will result in the increased supply of imported beer into the Belorussian market and will suppress the development of the Belorussian beer industry.
In 2012 the share of imported beer in Belarus was around 23%.