Cameroon: Beer sales drop 0.1% in 2017

Last year, a total of 6,539,570 hectolitres (653.9 million litres) of beer was sold in Cameroon. Based on Nielsen report, this figure reflects a slight decrease by 0.1% compared to 2016, Brasseries du Cameroun (Sabc) said.

The company, which is the leader on the Cameroonian beer market (72%), saw a 2.3% drop in sales compared to 2016. Sabc’s sales targets also fell by 1.5%. The overall low consumption is the result of the current economic crisis, the unrest in Grand-Nord and Anglophone regions. The other reason is the flow of products from Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea partly linked to the rise in locally-produced beer price in 2015 upon higher tax, among others.

Guinness Cameroon, second on the market (16%), sold 1.4% more beer during the period under review. This Diageo group’s subsidiary undertook various sales improvement actions, including caps lottery, the use of the internet for brands promotion as well as ads on local TV channels etc.

Finally, UCB, the third-largest brewer in Cameroon (11% of market share), improved sales by 13.7% with 712,100 hl (71.2 million litres) sold. Main actions carried out by this company included, among others, caps promotions, perks for a number of consumers based on achievements, and podium bus ads.