Vietnam: Beer sales up 9.3% last year, projected to grow 10% in 2017

Vietnam ranked in the world’s top-10 beer drinking markets as of the end of 2016, with the total consumption projected up 10 percent year-on-year to reach 4 billion litres in 2017, according to the Vietnam Beer Alcohol Beverage Association report on April 18.

Domestic brewers supplied over 3.7 billion litres to the market in 2016, up 9.3 percent against the same period of 2015, Bao Dau Tu (Vietnam Investment Review) online newspaper reported.

The largest firm Sabeco accounted for nearly a half of the market share, providing 1.6 billion litres, up 7.4 percent year-on-year, followed by Habeco, with 717.4 million litres, up 2.1 percent. Meanwhile, foreign firms, including Heineken and Carlsberg, contributed some 1.4 billion litres, up 15.7 percent year-on-year.

Despite the annual production increase, local brewers met only 85.6 percent of their set target in 2016, the association said.

According to insiders, the industry growth has seen a slowdown due to the increasing special consumption tax rates. They have risen to 60 percent since early 2017 (from 55 percent in 2016), and will be up to 65 percent in 2018, as part of Vietnamese government's efforts to limit alcohol consumption in the country.

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