New Zealand: Craft beer price and market share rise in 2016

The average price for a litre of craft beer has risen in the past year in New Zealand, a sign consumers are increasingly prepared to pay a premium for quality beer, New Zealand Herald reported on August 9.

But industry growth slowed in 2016 despite craft beer still managing to take a larger share of the total beer market, according to the annual ANZ Craft Beer Industry Insights report.

The report released on August 9 shows 194 craft breweries in New Zealand are producing more than 1600 unique beers.

Small breweries accounted for 5.8 per cent of total beer consumption by volume - up from 4.9 per cent in 2015.

But by value they account for 10 per cent of consumption, up from 8.5 per cent in 2015.

The survey defines small breweries as those whose total production volume is less than 1 per cent of the total volume of beer produced - that included NZ X-listed Moa as the largest independent brewery.

Although the industry growth rate had dipped - from 28 per cent down to 22 per cent by volume and from 39 per cent by value down to 32 per cent - it was too soon to say it had peaked, said John Bennett, ANZ General Manager, Central Region, Commercial and Agri.

But there was a sense the industry was approaching a crossroads where supply was meeting demand, he said.

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