The Government of Indonesia has announced plans to issue a new law on liquor, under which manufacturers need to use plain packaging or print graphic warnings on packaging.
The latest move is being taken in a bid to cut down the number of alcoholic beverage consumers.
Indonesia Deputy Trade Minister Bayu Krisnamurthi was quoted by jakartapost.com as saying that the new law was being drafted.
"We want people to be warned about the dangers of consuming alcoholic drinks. We see a lot of problems caused by the habit, including pertaining to health and crimes, among other things," Krisnamurthi added.
As per the new regulation, the specific packaging will be applied to liquor which has 20% or above alcohol content.
According to the minister, it is unclear when the new policy will be rolled out, as the government is yet to discuss about the draft with stakeholders.
In 2012, Australia launched regulations for cigarette packaging pushing manufacturers to use white labeling on green packets that are uniform.
Indonesian Food and Beverages Association (Gapmmi) secretary-general Franky Sibarani was quoted by the publication as saying, "For drinks with high alcohol content, branding really matters and plain packaging will stimulate a rise in illegal products both from imports and domestic producers."
