Bulgaria: Bulgarian brewers report H1 beer sales similar to last year�s

Bulgarian brewers invested some 20 million levs ($12.1 million/10.2 million euro) in fixed assets in the first half of 2021, the Union of Brewers in Bulgaria (UBB) said on July 20.

In 2020, investment in fixed assets totalled 37 million levs, UBB said.

During the first half of 2021, the sales on the domestic beer market were similar to last year's, with some 2.4 million hectolitres (hl) of beer sold, compared to 2.5 million hl in pre-pandemic year 2019.

“On the European map of the industry, Bulgaria is already in 11th place in terms of beer sales. There was even a slight increase in Bulgarian beer exports last year," commented UBB CEO Ivana Radomirova.

Over 35 new beer products have entered the market in the last year.

Out of 37 beer producers currently registered in Bulgaria, three are major companies, eight are small and medium-sized enterprises, and 26 are microbreweries.

On the EU level, the added value of beer production and sales dropped to 45 billion euro last year, from 60 billion euro in 2019. The workforce in the sector was cut by some 800,000 people.