Kenya introduces new regulations for the sale of alcohol

Dec 2, 2020

The Kenyan government is proposing the introduction of new regulations concerning the sale and packaging of alcohol. Meanwhile in Rwanda, the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has banned the packaging of alcoholic drinks in plastic bottles on the grounds of consumer health and the environment.

The first change is that bar owners will need to implement several new health measures before they are granted a permit to sell alcohol. New stipulations include hygiene measures around cleaning, disinfection and protective equipement, screening and social distancing, and operational changes

Bar owners will be required to instal a perspex shield at the counter. Patrons will be forbidden to sit at the bar. Patrons and servers willbe required to socially distance. Surfaces must be disinfected regularly and bars must conduct temperature checks on entry and provide a hand washing station or sanitiser at the entrance. Bars will also face further limits on the number of people they can admit.

Kenya’s Trade Ministry is also encouraging cashless transactions such as mobile money transfers to reduce the handling of hard currency.

The second development is that a proposed amendment to the Alcoholic Drinks Control Act will mean that the minimum size for alcoholic drinks will be 750ml, up from the current 250ml. The change will affect beer, spirits and wine. The amendment is designed to help prevent the abuse of alcohol and to discourage the uptake of alcohol. In effect it triples the lowest price point for alcohol.

Market leader East African Breweries Limited (EABL), owned by Diageo, has argued that raising the price point so high will funnel drinkers to illicit alcohol, while forcing manufacturers to incur extra costs retooling their production lines to cope, all while they lose sales.

It would mark a further setback to the sector, after the government implemented a lockdown in March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that saw bars and restaurants forced to close in a ban on on-trade sales in March, and again in July and August. Those bans saw consumers switching from beer to spirits, because it was easier to take a bottle of spirits home and drink it. In May, EABL, which does own spirits brands but is primarily a brewer, issued a profit warning.

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