Spain losing hundreds of millions to fake alcohol

Spain losing hundreds of millions to fake alcohol

Spain is the most affected in the EU

 

The Olive Press

By Laurence Dollimore, Reporter

July 30, 2016

The EU Intellectual Property Office estimates its local producers lose €263 million every year thanks to the introduction of counterfeits into the market.

 

In Spain, legitimate producers lose around €173 million a year on alcoholic beverages and €90 million a year on wine.

 

The trend also affects jobs and tax revenues, according to the EU’s Intellectual Property Office’s 8th report on the economic costs of fake products, which was released late July.

 

Spain heads the list of countries with the biggest job losses in absolute terms losing around 1,000 in a year.

 

The report also notes that states lose millions as a result of unpaid VAT or Social Security contributions, which in Spain amounts to €90 million.

 

While counterfeit production is difficult to detect and its implications difficult to analyse, it is estimated the EU as a whole has lost an annual average of €3 billion euros between 2008 and 2013.

 

The countries most affected after Spain are Italy, Germany and France.

 

Spain has been damaged the most because it has the highest number of businesses specialising in alcohol and wine with some 3,700.