27.01.2012 19:42 Videos
Video: Foreign beer is being driven out of Belarusian market, official says
Foreign beer is being driven out of the Belarusian market, Ivan Danchanka, head of the Belarusian State Food Industry Concern (Beldzyarzhkharchpram), told reporters in Minsk on Friday.
According to Mr. Danchanka, the share of imported beer in the Belarusian market decreased from 30 percent in 2010 to 24 percent in 2011. "This is still a rather large share," he said. "However, the trend whereby the share could grow to up to 33 percent has been reversed. The previous five-year period was a period of increasing the capacity in the brewing industry. Now this capacity is being used and imported beer is being driven out of the market. Sales of Belarusian beer increased by 18 percent in 2011."
Ukraine`s Obolon may begin beer production, using existing facilities of Belarusian breweries, Mr. Danchanka said. "We’ve reached an agreement on price levels with Obolon and other Ukrainian manufacturers," he said. "Negotiations were held. We use the prices of [Belarus` largest brewery] Krynitsa as the baseline. These prices should be approximately equal, imported beer should even be 10 to 15 percent more expensive. In addition, we proposed that Obolon should arrange for its beer to be produced at our breweries under a license."
In October 2011, Obolon urged the Ukrainian government to investigate what it called Belarus` discriminatory measures against its beer.
The measures led to a 50-percent increase in the prices of Obolon beer in the Belarusian market, the company said.
Starting December 2010, Belarusian wholesalers have been required to obtain temporary licenses for importing Ukrainian beer. Such licenses are granted only if its producers have signed agreements with Beldzyarzhkharchpram on the minimal prices in Belarus.
Belarus` beer imports from Ukraine reportedly totaled 947,700 decaliters in the first 11 months of 2011, a year-on-year decrease of 78 percent.
According to Mr. Danchanka, the share of imported beer in the Belarusian market decreased from 30 percent in 2010 to 24 percent in 2011. "This is still a rather large share," he said. "However, the trend whereby the share could grow to up to 33 percent has been reversed. The previous five-year period was a period of increasing the capacity in the brewing industry. Now this capacity is being used and imported beer is being driven out of the market. Sales of Belarusian beer increased by 18 percent in 2011."
Ukraine`s Obolon may begin beer production, using existing facilities of Belarusian breweries, Mr. Danchanka said. "We’ve reached an agreement on price levels with Obolon and other Ukrainian manufacturers," he said. "Negotiations were held. We use the prices of [Belarus` largest brewery] Krynitsa as the baseline. These prices should be approximately equal, imported beer should even be 10 to 15 percent more expensive. In addition, we proposed that Obolon should arrange for its beer to be produced at our breweries under a license."
In October 2011, Obolon urged the Ukrainian government to investigate what it called Belarus` discriminatory measures against its beer.
The measures led to a 50-percent increase in the prices of Obolon beer in the Belarusian market, the company said.
Starting December 2010, Belarusian wholesalers have been required to obtain temporary licenses for importing Ukrainian beer. Such licenses are granted only if its producers have signed agreements with Beldzyarzhkharchpram on the minimal prices in Belarus.
Belarus` beer imports from Ukraine reportedly totaled 947,700 decaliters in the first 11 months of 2011, a year-on-year decrease of 78 percent.
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