Spirits producers seek further excise cut

Domestic spirits producers intend to turn to the Finance Ministry to lower the excise duty on alcohol by a further 30% claiming that this would allow them to take full advantage of their customers' positive reaction to the previous excise cut. "After the first excise on alcohol was lowered sales increased, which meant that we gained some new customers who previously purchased alcohol from illegal sources. In the fourth quarter of 2002 we sold 20% more alcohol than in the previous quarter," said the president of Polmos Bialystok (PB), Jan Malachowski. Former Treasury Minister Wieslaw Kaczmarek intended to list PB on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, but it remains unknown whether his replacement, Slawomir Cytrycki, will pursue the same policy. (Puls Biznesu, p. 8). A.Z.