Attorney General and Minister of Justice Suzanne Anton issued the following statement to update industry stakeholders on changes to B.C.’s wholesale pricing for wine:

“Since we released our wholesale pricing model in November, we’ve heard concerns from industry about the pricing structure for wines over $20 a bottle.

“In listening to this feedback, we concluded that adjustments needed to be made, so we have amended the wholesale mark-up for this category to better align wholesale prices with what industry sees today.

“We are reducing the mark-up for this category - levelling out the wholesale price for wines that would have been impacted. In other words, government is not putting inadvertent pressure on industry to raise liquor prices when they sell their products to British Columbians.

“Our wholesale pricing model is not intended to increase government revenue or retail prices. Rather, the model is designed to generate approximately the same amount of government revenue from each product category as we receive today. With today’s update, that revenue will still be protected - the Liquor Distribution Branch expects to continue meeting its targets.

“With projects as large as the revamping of B.C.’s wholesale model for liquor, there are bound to be a few course corrections along the way. We announced our wholesale pricing model in November because we wanted to provide industry with as much notice as we could, while still allowing time to make adjustments, as necessary, before the go-live date on April 1. I want to thank our industry and other stakeholders for their timely input, which is contributing to a balanced and modernized liquor model.

“Our consumer-centred model is about creating a fairer, more competitive market - which we expect will, at the end of the day, benefit British Columbians. These changes will help to alleviate the concerns we’ve heard while still maintaining B.C.’s high standards for health and public safety.”

Quick facts:

• Under the wholesale model released this fall, a base mark-up of 89% would have been applied to the first $11.75 per litre of wine and a second tier mark-up of 67% would have been applied to the remainder.
• The update announced today will decrease the second tier mark-up from 67% to 27% - adjusting wholesale prices so they are more consistent with what industry sees today.
• Revenue from liquor sales in B.C. contributes more than $1.2 billion towards the Province’s important health and social programs.

Media Contacts:

Ministry of Justice
Government Communications and Public Engagement
250 213-3602