Sales of alcoholic beverages in Latvia fell by 28.1 percent for the first six months this year, compared to last year's figures, according to the Association of Latvian Liquor Producers and Distributors, reports news agency LETA. Sales of hard liquor dropped the most, by 34.5 percent. Sales of wine decreased 16 percent, thanks to the practically non-existent contraband trade of wine in Latvia. The association believes that one of the problems is the increasing availability of bootleg alcohol in Latvia. They say that even more important than closing bootleg alcohol outlets is the joint work of the authorities responsible to the Finance Ministry and the Interior Ministry, which must cut the supply of bootleg liquor to the outlets and end the smuggling into Latvia.
Eesti Energia sold 432 GWh of electricity on the domestic market in July, reports news agence LETA. Demand continued to drop in comparison with last year's figures, down by 8.5 percent. Eesti Energia reported that the decline was due to the impact of the recession, and consequently the fall in production volumes. Eesti Energia sold 303 GWh of power to corporate customers, 9.4 percent less than a year ago. Sales to households fell by 8.3 percent. The average price on the domestic market was 514 kroons (32.9 euros) per MWh, not including the power grid services. The average key price in the Finnish part, on the Nord Pool exchange, was 537 kroons per MWh.
