Poland: Carlsberg may need to “significantly reduce” or halt beer production in Poland due to CO2 shortage

Carlsberg A/S said it may need to “significantly reduce” or halt beer production in Poland due to a shortage of liquid CO2 as a the global energy crisis creates bottlenecks for breweries, Bloomberg reported on August 25.

The halt would be caused by a suspension of production at the country’s largest chemicals companies, Beata Ptaszynska-Jedynak, spokeswoman at the brewery’s unit in Poland said on Thursday. Carlsberg shares fell as much as 2.6% in Copenhagen, extending earlier loses.

A final decision to stop may need to be taken in days, the spokeswoman said, adding that the shortage may affect other companies too. Spokespeople for local units of Asahi and Heineken didn’t have immediate comment when contacted by Bloomberg News.

“In the big picture, Poland is a relatively small jurisdiction for Carlsberg, but the market is likely to see risk of this spreading to other European countries,” Mads Rosendal, a credit analyst at Danske Bank A/S, said in a note to clients.

Carlsberg has three brewery sites in Poland and has a No. 3 position with a 19.4% market share, according to its website.