Alcohol, Analytics, EU – Baltic States, Lithuania, Markets and Companies, Society

According to its findings, given the shadow alcohol sales and the alcohol taken out of the country by emigrants and foreign tourists, residents of Lithuania consumes about 13.1 liters of alcohol per capita, which is nearly 1 liter less than the official statistics.

Marius Dubnikovas, the chairman of the Tax Commission of the Business Confederation, said the factors should be included in the calculations of alcohol consumption, as they have a major impact.

"The current statistics reflect the alcohol sold on the legal market, not the alcohol that has been consumed. For some reason we turn the sold alcohol into consumed alcohol. Some of the emigrants who come back tend to bring items back home – people emigrated to countries with higher living standards where excise duties are higher and the taxes are higher. Alcohol is cheaper here, and naturally they bring it to their country of residence. This is important," Dubnikovas said at a news conference on June 9th.

Darius Dulkis, partner in the research company Ekonomines Konsultacijos ir Tyrimai (Economic Consultations and Research), believes that even the 13 liters per capita is not a reflection of reality.

"In ratings of international institutions, we are listed with our domestic statistics. We are not happy with the 13 liters. We need bigger research and samples. This is only the first attempt," Dulkis told journalists.

According to data provided by Statistics Lithuania, the country's residents consumed an average of 14.2 liters of pure alcohol per capita in 2014. However, calculations of additional sales of shadow alcohol, amounts of alcohol taken out of Lithuania by emigrants, the consumption by foreign tourists and transport of logistics companies pulled the indicator down to 13.14 liters.

The World Health Organization lists Lithuania among the top three European countries in terms of alcohol consumption levels.