Japan: Combined domestic shipments of beer and low-malt beer "happoshu" by Japan's five major brewers dropped 9.2 % in November 2004 versus November 2003, Kyodo News International revealed in a statement. Japan's five major brewers, posted their third straight monthly drop, according to shipment figures released Thursday, November 11. Beer and happoshu shipments by Kirin Brewery Co., Asahi Breweries Ltd., Sapporo Breweries Ltd., Suntory Ltd. and Orion Breweries Ltd. totalled 36.87 million cases. One case holds 12.66 liters, or the equivalent of 20 633-milliliter bottles.

The brewers ascribed the slide to bad weather: powerful typhoons and hard rains. Shipments of regular beer fell 6.9 % to 22.16 million cases, and those of happoshu dropped 12.3 % to 14.71 million cases, a double-digit drop for two consecutive months.

The brewers said happoshu shipments continued to suffer setbacks as competition with low alcoholic drinks and other lower-priced quasi-beer beverages is intensifying. They said the earthquakes that wreaked havoc in Niigata Prefecture had detrimental psychological effects on overall consumer sentiment.

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