Bulgaria: Beer sales up 11% for 1H 2006

Domestic beer sales rose 6.4% month-on-month in June to 569,674 hectoliters, getting a significant boost from the World Cup finals in Germany, shows data released by the Union of Brewers in Bulgaria (UBB), Dnevnic released July 20.

January-June sales were up 11% year-on-year to 2,224,638 hectoliters. The sales data of the union does not reflect the business of locally-owned Ledenika&MM which is not a member.

In addition to the soccer fever, beer sales also gained from the excise hike on alcohol drinks.

Kamenitza AD, owned by the world's biggest brewer by volume InBev, topped both the June and YTD sales rankings. The company sold 200,410 hectoliters in June, up 15% over May.

Carlsberg Bulgaria was the surprise runner-up in June with 148,125 hectoliters. The company recorded a 30% month-on-month surge in sales to pip Heineken-owned rival Zagorka which posted a 18% decline over May to 142,514 hectoliters.

Beer makers Lomsko Pivo and Agrima also registered a slowdown in sales for June.

The local brewers are struggling with a shortfall of premium barley, forcing them to ship it form abroad, said UBB chairman Vladimir Ivanov. The 9 breweries operating in Bulgaria at the moment market some 60 brands of beer on the local market.

At the same time, the beer consumption in Bulgaria for the first six months of 2006 has increased by 11 per cent, compared to the same period last year, The Sofia Echo posted July 19.

In the same period, 54 per cent of the customers bought beer in glass bottles and 37 per cent preferred plastic ones.

Breweries invested BGL38 million in the production process for the first six months of the year, the report showed.

The income generated by all breweries in Bulgaria in 2005 reached BGL180 million, Darik Radio reported.

In 2005, the average Bulgarian consumed 61 litres of beer. Company representatives said that beer prices in Bulgaria were among the lowest in Europe. In 2007 prices were expected to increase by at least BGL0.04.

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