Laos: Beer Lao wins second prize at Russian beer festival

Beer Lao, the national brew in land-locked communist Laos, clinched second prize at Russia's Osiris Beer Festival, which it entered for the first time earlier this month, Radio Vientiane announced on Tuesday.

The state-run radio station, monitored in Bangkok, expressed surprise that the country's beer - brewed by the partly state-owned Lao Brewery Company - had won the "silver" prize at the 7th Osiris beer festival, held June 4 to 12, in which 40 other brews had competed.

The gold award went to Russia's Nebskoe beer. "This has come as a surprise to many competitors," said Lao Brewery Company's sales manager, Khamsone Phengrattanavong, in a press statement posted on the brewery's website.

"Our beer is now getting interest from the European market. We are forging links for export to England and we also have some orders from Germany," said Khamsone.

Lao Brewery, a joint venture between the Lao government (50 per cent) and Carlsberg (25 per cent) of Denmark and Beer Chang (25 per cent) of Thailand, is the country's most profitable company.

Beer consumption in Laos rose 13 per cent in 2004, hiking the average intake to 14 litres per head per annum, higher than China's imbibing rate.

Lao Brewery last year signed a contract to purchase 10 million euros of brewery equipment from Germany and other European countries to expand its capacity from 90 million litres to 130 million litres, by the end of 2005.

Beer Lao is now exported to the U.S., France, Japan, New Zealand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Canada and Australia.

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