Czech Republic: Central Bohemian beer makes up 15 percent of Czech beer exports

Beer brewed in central Bohemian breweries accounts for more than 15 percent of overall Czech beer exports, The Prague Monitor learned October 10 form a local report.

There are 13 brewers operating in central Bohemia. They export beer to countries in Europe, the US, Australia and China, the paper says.

Largest central Bohemian brewery, Velke Popovice, put out 739,758 hectolitres of beer in the first half of the year and was the third largest Czech brewer, trailing Plzensky Prazdroj in western Bohemia and Nosovice in northern Moravia.

Velkopopovicky kozel beer, produced by Velke Popovice, was the best-selling brand abroad last year with 1.3 million hectolitres sold, which is more than the brewer produced in its Czech facilities.

"[Velkopopovicky] kozel is sold in 24 countries around the world, including Finland and Australia," said Alexej Bechtin, spokesman of Velke Popovice's owner Plzensky Prazdroj.

"Research shows that [Velkopopovicky] kozel is the best-known and best-selling beer in Russia, for instance, and also the most successful brand produced under licence there," Bechtin added.

Another central Bohemian brewer, Kralovsky pivovar Krusovice, exports its beer to 15 European countries and to Israel. Kralovsky pivovar put out 471,000 hectolitres of beer this year, the seventh largest amount in the Czech Republic.

Brewer Klaster Hradiste in central Bohemia puts out around 120,000 hectolitres of beer a year and ranks among mid-sized breweries. In June this year, it launched exports to China as one of the first Czech brewers.

"We will export nearly half of output this year, mainly to Germany, the US, Italy and China," Klaster Hradiste chief executive Jiri Zwak told Mlada fronta.