Dunedin New World supermarkets stock Russian beer despite calls from Ukrainian community to boycott imports

Ukrainians Olha Viazenko and her husband Oleskii Ikonnikov hold posters outside Gardens New World supermarket yesterday, to protest the supermarket selling Russian beer. Photo / Linda Robertson

A pair of Dunedin supermarkets continues to sell Russian liquor, despite calls from the local Ukrainian community to boycott imports.

New World Gardens and New World Centre City continue to sell imported Russian beer, while Countdown has removed Baltika from its shelves.

Earlier this month, the Government announced a 35 per cent tariff on all imports from Russia.

Last year, New Zealand imported beer worth about $384,000 from Russia.

New World Gardens has Baltika, Hamovniki and 3 Hills Beer, all Russian imports, available for purchase.

New World Centre City continues to sell Baltika, 3 Hills Beer and Siberian Crown.

Ukrainian expatriate and invasion protest organiser Olha Viazenko said New Zealand businesses selling Russian products were supporting the war.

"Each Russian product sold is a bullet to the heart of Ukraine."

Members of the local Ukrainian community had tried to approach supermarkets and liquor stores to ask them to stop stocking Russian products, but had mostly been turned away.

The issue was particularly bad for vodka, as many off-licences stocked a wide range of it from Russia.

Viazenko said businesses needed to boycott these products until the end of the war.

Foodstuffs NZ head of co-operative public relations Emma Wooster said Foodstuffs South Island did not stock any Russian products in its core range of beers.

However, because stores were individually owned and operated, local owners could make decisions regarding which products they offered.