Bulgaria's beer market recorded a growth of 7 to 8% for the first eight months in 2004 over the same period last year. A total of 258 million liters of beer were sold over the first seven months this year, up by 33 million over the volume sold during the whole 2003, according to the Bulgaria’s Union of Beer Brewers.

Beer in plastic bottles, typical of Eastern European markets, enjoy the highest increase in sales because of its lower price and the advantages that the bottles offer over their glass counterparts, Novinte said in a statement.

E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .