Bali Studies

“It is becoming a serious issue,” said Michael Burchett, the general manager of the five-star Conrad hotel and head of the Bali Hotel Association. “Some hotels are reporting a 40 per cent reduction in the number of items available on their wine lists. If something doesn’t happen soon most of the hotels are going to have very serious problems by the end of September.”

David Wilson, general manager at Bali’s Ritz-Carlton hotel said: “We’re getting to the point where supplies have reached the end of the road.”

The shortage, which is also affecting the capital Jakarta and other big ­cities, has been triggered by the collapse of the complicated quota system that controls alcohol imports.

The system requires distributors to obtain quotas every six months. It began to unravel after the state audit agency last year discovered significant under-invoicing at the state-owned company that acts as a conduit between the trade ministry, which issues quotas, and ­distributors.

Police confirmed they were investigating the Indonesian Trading Company and the customs agency while officials said they were unable to apply for distributor quotas while the investigation was pending.

According to government officials a new system is due to be implemented soon and will ensure that Bali is well-supplied with alcohol.

Customs officials said a crackdown in Bali earlier this year had found more than 58,000 bottles of alcohol with fake import stickers or none at all, all of which were impounded.

But retailers in Bali said they were stunned by the move, as they thought they were importing wine legally, and it had left local residents with limited choice.

“It’s impossible to buy foreign wine and beer now,” said Kathryn Bruce, a Bali resident. “Every shop I know of that used to sell it has run out.”

John Daniels, the head of the Bali-based Discovery Tours, said the shortage would make it much harder to attract visitors. “We’re trying to persuade the world we’re a great holiday destination and for many Europeans having a drink without paying an arm and a leg is a key part of the experience,” he said.