Germany: Sales of beer down 1.6% in the third quarter of 2005

The beer producing and storing establishments in Germany sold 29.0 million hectolitres of beer in the third quarter of 2005, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office on October 27. That was a decrease of 0.5 million hectolitres (� 1.6%) from the corresponding period of the previous year.

The figures do not include alcohol-free beers and malt drinks as well as beer imported from countries outside European union. Sales of beer-mixed drinks accounted 3.2% of all bees and registered an increase of 11.6% year-on-year compared to 0.9 million hectolitres in the third quarter 2004.

Beer exports to other EU countries fell by 3.9% to 3.3m hectolitres, and beer exports to non-EU states came in at 800,000 hectolitres, a drop of 6.1%.

Taxed beer sales on the domestic market were down by 1.5% to 24.8m hectolitres, while non-taxed beer sales totalled 4.2m hectolitres, down 2.1%, the office said.

The figures released do not include alcohol-free beer, malt drinks or beer imported from non-EU states, the office noted.