South Korea: Beer sales declined 1.7% during 1H

Beer sales in South Korea declined in the first six months of the year on an annual basis because of a change in consumers' lifestyles and the continued weakness of the nation's economy, a trade association said July 10, Asia Pulse posted July 10.

A total of 92.61 million boxes of beer were sold in the first half, down 1.7% from the same period of the previous year, according to the Korea Alcohol & Liquor Industry Association. Each box contains 20 500-milliliter bottles.

But beer sales increased 3.7 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively, in May and June, on the back of the World Cup finals in Germany, it said. In the first three months of the year, beer sales fell 6.5 per cent annually.

Beer sales had increased since 2000, when the sales rose 11.29% from the preceding year. The sales gained 8.04% and 2.42%, respectively, in 2001 and 2002.

However, a downturn began in 2003, when sales decreased 3.66 per cent. Last year, sales dropped 4.26 per cent, according to the association.

The association attributed the decrease to more people consuming less alcohol due to health reasons, along with the stagnation of the country's economy.

Amid the decrease, industry leader Hite Co. had a 60.9% market share in the first half, followed by Oriental Brewery Co. with a 39.1% share, according to the association.

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