RIGA - As beer sales in Lithuania and Estonia have risen sharply this year with sales in Latvia declining, an Estonian study showed that beer prices have actually fallen over the past year.
Lithuania's beer market grew 5.6 percent from January to the end of April with 69 million liters. In April alone, the output soared 11.8 percent to 22.7 million liters, said the Lithuanian Brewers' Association.
Meanwhile, exports rocketed over the same period. Led by Svyturys-Utenos Alus, Lithuanian brewers delivered 63.4 percent more beer in the first four months of this year.
Svyturys-Utenos Alus exports surged amid a significant rise in sales of Carlsberg beer in Estonia and Latvia, Audrius Vidzys, president of the brewers' association, told the Baltic News Service. Carlsberg beer accounted for two-thirds of the company's total beer exports, he added.
Svyturys-Utenos Alus, which is controlled by Scandinavian-owned Baltic Beverages Holding, also launched the export of Svyturio Extra beer to the United States in late February. The beer is being marketed in seven U.S. states.
Kalnapilis-Tauras, which is majority owned by the Danish Brewery Group, saw a 73.5 percent drop in its four-month exports, while Siauliai-based Gubernija, posted a 23.5 percent decline in exports.
In Estonia, brewers sold 19.7 million liters of beer on the domestic market in the first quarter, 18 percent more than the same period last year. "The significant rise in beer sales can be explained by better availability of cheaper beers," said Juri Kert, chairman of the Estonian Beer Union. "For the first time, all Estonian breweries are represented with PET-packaged beers."
He said that Tartu Olletehas was the latest brewery to launch sales of beer in plastic bottles after its competitors, the Saku and Viru breweries, achieved remarkable success in this segment of the market.
According to quarterly figures, Saku Olletehas continues to lead the industry with a 41.9 percent market share, followed by Tartu Olletehas with 33.7 percent and Viru with 17.1 percent.
The Estonian Institute of Economic Research released a report last week showing that beer has become cheaper over the past year, with the average price of beer with an alcohol content of 6 percent down as much as 17.9 percent during the period. A standard half-liter bottle of beer can be obtained for an average 8.12 kroons (0.52 euro) compared with 9.88 kroons a year ago.
Estonian beer has become cheaper due to competition from lower-priced imported beers, particularly from Russia and Ukraine, that have entered the market, local brewers said.
Members of the Latvian Brewers Association sold 23.8 million liters of beer in the first quarter, an 8.7 percent fall year-on-year, according to association director Ivars Grislis.
Aldaris sold nearly 9 million liters of beer over the first quarter, or 37.7 percent of total country sales. The brewers' year-on-year sales have shrunk some 30 percent. Cesu Alus was the strong performer, as it sold 3.2 million liters in the first three months, or 45 percent more year-on-year, increasing its market share by 2.7 percent to a total of 13.8 percent.
(BNS)
