45 million liters of illegal rakia are consumed annually in Bulgaria
According to expert data, about 45 million liters of rakia that have not undergone official control are produced and consumed in Bulgaria every year. This quantity represents a significant share of the alcoholic beverage market in the country.
The Customs Agency is making efforts to limit illegal production, but the scale of the problem remains large. In the first eight months of the year, agency officials managed to seize only 15,000 liters of illegal alcohol.
The main difficulty for the authorities is that a large portion of this rakia is distilled at home for personal consumption. This makes tracking the quantities extremely difficult, and quality and safety control of the product is often lacking.
Experts warn that illegal alcohol poses health risks to consumers, as it does not undergo laboratory testing. In addition to health hazards, the state loses significant revenue from unpaid excise duties on these millions of liters of alcohol.
The issue of regulating home production remains a subject of public discussion. In the meantime, regulatory authorities continue their inspections to limit the distribution of alcohol that does not meet legal requirements.