Czech Republic: Budejovicky Budvar has started to distribute Danish beer Carlsberg

Czech state-run brewery Budejovicky Budvar has started to distribute Danish beer Carlsberg, seeking to sell 2,000 hectolitres this year, Budvar officials said, according to Prague Daily Monitor, June 8.

Budvar is the first Czech brewery to offer beer produced by another company abroad. The cooperation between Budvar and Carlsberg started in January, when Carlsberg started to sell Budvar lager in Scandinavia and Croatia.

Carlsberg's rivals in the Czech Republic will include Heineken and Stella Artois. Heineken sold 11,000 hectolitres in the country last year and expects to double the amount this year.

Budvar will sell Carlsberg above all to retail chains, luxury restaurants, international pubs and clubs. A pint will cost about Kc19.5 in shops, against Kc15.9 charged for a pint of Budvar lager.

"Carlsberg will not only enrich our supply, but we hope it will also improve our position for negotiations with retail chains," said Budvar sales director Robert Chrt.

Budvar's step is a reaction to a forecast of demand on the Czech beer market. Experts predict a gradual growth in demand for imported beer.

Some 215,000 hectolitres of foreign beer was sold in the Czech Republic in 2005. In 2008, the volume should rise to 231,000 hectolitres owing to tourists and foreigners living in the Czech Republic, but also to appetite for new experience and interest in imported goods, shown by the young generation, said beverage research company Canadean.

Carlsberg is the world's sixth largest beer producer. In the first quarter, it made net profit worth DKK45 million (Kc170m) on sales worth EUR8.86 billion.

Budvar, the third largest Czech brewery, raised exports by 7 percent to a record-high 556,000 hectolitres of beer in 2006. Its output rose by 5 percent to 1.151 million hectolitres.

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