It looks like we won’t be able to go to the neighborhood 7-11 or Indomaret for a quick bottle of Bintang anymore. Trade Minister Rachmat Gobel has issued a ban on minimarkets in Indonesia from selling type A alcoholic drinks.
Type A refers to drinks with less than 5% alcohol content, so that includes pretty much all beer. Anything above 5% was never sold in minimarkets anyway, so this new prohibition essentially prevents any alcohol from being sold in minimarkets.
Minimarkets across the country have three months to withdraw all alcoholic products since the prohibition was passed on January 16.
The vice chairman of the Retail Entrepreneurs Association (Aprindo), Tutum Rahanta, regretted the prohibition as it could affect the tourism industry.
“Retail businesses rely on selling alcohol to foreign tourists,” Tutum said yesterday, as quoted by Kompas.
This prohibition only affects minimarkets. Alcoholic drinks can still be purchased from licensed supermarkets and hypermarkets.
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