Japan: Shipments of beer, beer-like drinks drop 2.7 % in the first half

Shipments in Japan of beer and beer-like alcoholic beverages by five major domestic brewers dropped 2.7 % in the first half of 2005 from a year before for the fourth straight decline on a first-half basis, Kyodo News cited industry data released on Tuesday, July 12.

Overall shipments by Kirin Brewery Co., Asahi Breweries Ltd., Suntory Ltd., Orion Breweries Ltd. and Sapporo Breweries Ltd. totaled 228.26 million cases. All five suffered first-half falls for the first time since the data were first gathered in 1992. One case holds 12.66 liters, or the equivalent of 20 633-milliliter bottles.

Shipments of a beer-like sparkling alcoholic beverage, known as "third-category" beer, more than tripled to 32.66 million cases, reflecting its popularity for its cheap prices stemming from lower liquor taxes. It accounted for 14.3 percent of overall shipments, up sharply from 4.4 percent a year before.

But shipments of "happoshu" low-malt beer slumped 20.2 percent to 70.46 million cases with a 30.9 percent share. Those of traditional beer fell 8.0 percent to 125.13 million cases with a 54.8 percent share, dropping for the ninth consecutive first-half period.

The first-half fall in overall shipments was partly attributable to the introduction of a new pricing system by major brewers in January which resulted in higher retail prices of some products.

Overall shipments in June dropped 0.4 percent to 53.25 million cases for the first monthly fall in three months.

Competition in the third-category beer market is expected to intensify further, with Kirin and Asahi having entered the market in April after Sapporo and Suntory introduced such products last year.

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