Bulgaria: Beer consumption in Bulgaria decreased for the second month. About 288,310 hl of beer were sold during October 2004, according to the figures of the Bulgarian Union of Brewers. A total of 367,700 hl of beer were sold in September 2004 whereas more than 550,000 hl were sold in August 2004. However, if compared to October 2003 there has been registered an increase of 22.7% in the beer sales during October 2004. The decrease was attributed by experts to the cold weather.

Over the first ten months of the year some 3,707 million hl of beer have been sold which marks and increase of 11.7% as compared to the same period in 2003. Thirteen Bulgarian breweries produce over 50 different kinds of beer in the country. The chairman of Bulgarian Union of Brewers Vladimir Ivanov forecasted that in 2004 beer sales in Bulgaria would register an 8% increase versus 2003.

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