Changes Are Taking Place In Belarus's Imported Alcohol Market
- 3.09.2026, 19:43
Global alcohol brands are leaving our country.
Manufacturers of well-known gin and whiskey brands have terminated their long-standing contracts with Belarusian distributors.
Changes are taking place in Belarus’s imported alcohol market. These changes concern agreements with well-known brands, noted Office Life.
Information on this can be found in the official bulletin of the National Center for Intellectual Property of Belarus.
A number of well-known alcohol brands are part of a single giant holding company from France—Pernod Ricard. And since 1998, the company has had a Belarusian subsidiary, “Pernod Ricard Minsk.”
It is through this firm that alcohol producers present and protect their brands in Belarus. However, the situation has now changed somewhat.
For example, Chivas, the whiskey producer, and Beefeater, the gin producer, have terminated their licensing agreements with “Pernod Ricard Minsk.”
These companies and the alcohol brands they produce are owned by Pernod Ricard.
The agreement between the Belarusian company and the British firm “Allied Domecq Spirits and Wine Limited” was signed back in 2008. The company produces Beefeater gin.
In addition, it owns three trademarks in Belarus—two featuring the Ballantines whiskey logo and slogan, and one featuring the Beefeater gin label.
Chivas Brothers Limited of Scotland has also terminated its agreement. This company produces the well-known Chivas whiskey and also signed its licensing agreement with Minsk-based “Pernod Ricard” in 2008.
According to the documents, both companies terminated their agreements in July 2026. It is not yet clear what prompted this decision or how it will affect the availability of these brands on Belarusian store shelves.
This is all the more surprising given that “Pernod Ricard Minsk” recently entered into agreements with iconic brands. For example, the Swedish company The Absolut Group (manufacturer of the vodka of the same name) extended its contract through 2026.
Meanwhile, the French holding company’s Mexican subsidiary signed a licensing agreement with it to use the Olmeca trademark. Under this trademark, the holding company produces tequila.