Beer production in Russia falls in June 2010

2010-07-26

Despite hot weather and the FIFA World Cup, production output of beer in Russia declined by 5.6% year on year in June 2010, according to the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat).
Beer production was also down when considered from a month-on-month perspective – 104 million dl were produced in June, which represents a decline of 2.5% in comparison with May.
In the opinion of the Union of the Russian Breweries (CRP), the decline is due primarily to an increase in the excise duty levied on beer, which was introduced at the beginning of the year. A decrease in the propensity of Russian consumers to buy beer and higher stocks held by retailers were also believed to have contributed to the decline in output.
According to CRP, this decline in production has been evident since the beginning of the year, caused by the increase in the excise duty. As a result, a 9.9% decline has been noted between H1 2009 and H1 2010. Higher-than-average temperatures, however, have helped to minimise the scale of the decline.