Updated  
January, 29 2013 08:56:25

Holiday sparks scramble for beer

 

Preparing beer for the upcoming Tet holiday in Co.op Mart Da Nang supermarket. Both demand for beer and beer prices are on the rise as Tet approaches. — VNA/VNS Photo Tran Le Lam
HA NOI (VNS)— Demand for beer and beer prices are on the rise as the Tet holiday approaches.

Brewing industry leaders have estimated that over 500 million litres of beer of all varieties will be consumed during the holiday season this year, with no shortages expected despite the spike in consumption.

Sai Gon Beer and Alcoholic Beverages Joint Stock Co (Sabeco) plans to ship 260 million litres during the lead-up to the holiday, Viet Nam Brewery Ltd and Ha Noi Beer and Alcoholic Beverages Corporation (Habeco) each expect to produce about 100 million litres.

Sabeco's leading brands, including Red Sai Gon, Sai Gon Special and 333 canned beer, have also seen increases in prices of about 5 per cent since mid-January. According to Sabeco, sales of Red Sai Gon beer also rose this month by about 23 per cent compared to the same period last year, while sales of 333 beer have risen by 11 per cent.

For fresh beer, prices have increased about VND15-20,000 per barrel in the past two weeks.

According to a global market research company, Viet Nam was the top beer-drinking nation in the Southeast Asia in 2011, with about 2.6 billion litres consumed. Preliminary estimates for 2012 suggest that Vietnamese drinkers guzzled nearly 3 billion litres of beer in 2012, over twice the 1.29 billion litres consumed in 2003.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, there were about 350 breweries nationwide, 20 of which had an annual capacity of over 20 million litres and another 15 of which had a capacity of over 15 million litres.

Many varieties of imported beer were also now available on the domestic market, including products from Germany, Belgium, France, the Czech Republic, Russia and Japan, at prices ranging from VND450,000 ($25) to VND2 million ($95) per barrel. — VNS

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