HELSINKI: The National Institute for Health and Welfare THL says that new data show a 14-percent increase in personal alcohol imports over a period of one year. THL researcher Thomas Karlsson says that an increase in trips to Estonia appears to have buoyed the rising booze imports.
The National Institute for Health and Welfare THL reported Monday that Finnish tourists imported 81.1 million litres of alcoholic beverages from abroad during the one-year period from September 2015 to September 2016, up 14.1 percent in the previous year. The agency said that the imported represented a total of 8.7 million litres of 100-percent alcohol, and is some 15 percent more imports during a similar period one year earlier.
THL specialist researcher Thomas Karlsson said that trips to neighbouring Estonia increased by six percent since during the first six months or so of this year. He added that this was partly responsible for the surge in alcohol imports. “The majority of alcohol is still brought in from Estonia, where it is significantly cheaper than here. We also know that more travelers are returning with alcohol and more are also bringing in larger quantities than before. So the increase in alcohol imports is the sum of many parts,” Karlsson explained.
