Japan: February shipments of beer and beer-like alcoholic beverages increased by 11.8%

Shipments of beer and beer-like alcoholic beverages by Japan's top five brewers surged 11.8 % in February from a year earlier for the second straight monthly rise, partly because those of so-called third-category beer fared well, industry figures showed Monday, March 13, according to Kyodo News.

The overall shipment figure posted double-digit growth for the first time in one and a half years, according to the Brewers Association of Japan and beer brewers.

Shipments by Kirin Brewery Co., Asahi Breweries Ltd., Sapporo Breweries Ltd., Suntory Ltd. and Orion Breweries Ltd. came to a total of 33.22 million cases. One case holds 20 633-milliliter bottles.

Kirin appears to have taken the top position with the biggest market share, keeping Asahi in second place for the second month in a row.

Shipments of the third-category beer, or beer-like sparkling drinks, nearly tripled to 7.00 million cases, accounting for 21.1 percent of the market. Products in this category are cheaper than both regular and low-malt beer, known as "happoshu," as they are subject to a lower tax rate.

Shipments of regular beer posted a sizable 9.3 percent gain to 16.71 million cases for the second consecutive monthly rise, while happoshu shipments dropped 21.0 percent to 9.50 million cases for the 19th straight month of decline.

Sapporo was in third place, followed by Suntory, which appears to have reduced its market share difference with Sapporo on the strength of its recently introduced popular third-category beer.

E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .