Japanese brewer, Sapporo Breweries Ltd, has planned to increase its production efficiency by reducing its total number of breweries from eight to six. The company said the reorganisation would reduce its production costs by Y5 billion a year.

Sapporo Breweries Ltd will cease operations at its brewery in Hokkaido, in northern Japan, by the end of March 2003 and at its Saitama brewery, north of Tokyo, after summer 2003.

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