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.