Finland: Beer sales increased by 3.1 % for January-September 2005

By the end of September, members of the Finnish Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry had sold a total of 633.3 million litres of beer, cider, long drinks, soft drinks and mineral waters. Beverage sales rose by 1.4 per cent on the previous year.

Beer sales were up 3.1 per cent. Sales of sugar-free soft drinks also increased by 7.5 per cent. Imports of beverages by travellers surged during the summer. Due to the trend in the price of beer in Finland, beer imports by travellers are remaining at the 2004 level. On the other hand, imports of cider and long drinks by travellers are on the rise. Federation members’ sales of cider in Finland have decreased.

By the end of September, members of the Finnish Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry had sold a total of 633.3 million litres of beverages, up 8.6 million litres. This increase was mainly accounted for by the growth in beer sales. Beer sales grew by 3.1 per cent – 9.7 million litres – on the previous year, rising to 323.3 million litres in the January-September period of 2005. Growth centred on sales of medium-strength beer in daily consumer goods stores, while sales of strong beer declined. Sales in daily consumer goods stores accounted for 76 per cent of all beer sales. Sales in restaurants accounted for 21 per cent and Alko’s sales for 3 per cent.

Imports of beer by travellers levelling off, imports of cider and long drinks increasing
According to the latest study results from TNS Gallup, imports of beer will remain at, or just under, the 2004 level. However, imports of long drinks, cider, wines and spirits are rising compared to the figures from 2004.

The trend in the price of domestic beer in daily consumer goods stores has restrained imports of beer by travellers. However, by mid-October, travellers had already imported more cider than during the whole of last year. This indicates that, at the current tax level, an ordinary retail profit margin makes the price level too high for consumers. Private imports increase. On the other hand, in the case of beer, from which neither stores nor breweries make a profit anymore, the consumer price has been artificially set to a level that keeps imports in check.

Focus on mild beverages, cut in beer tax essential
Tax accounts for the bulk of the price of beer. With the current, unhealthy tax structure, the highest-volume product of breweries is not yielding a sufficient profit margin for them, and this does not benefit the retail sector either. When the price of beer rises to a healthier level, this leads to an increase in imports by travellers. The beer tax must also be halved in order to direct consumption to mild beverages.

Studies of imports by travellers join forces
Studies of imports by travellers conducted by the authorities and the brewing industry will be combined. The weekly traveller import monitoring carried out by TNS Gallup will in future be commissioned by parties such as the Alcoholic Beverages Industries’ Association of the Finnish Food and Drink Industries’ Federation, Alko, the Ministry of Finance, the National Product Control Agency for Welfare and Health (STTV) and the National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health (STAKES). Uniting the studies will both remove overlaps and expand the scope of research. All the parties involved aim to gain a view of traveller imports that is as extensive and consistent as possible.

The monitoring begun on 1 May 2004 by the Finnish Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry, which is carried out by TNS Gallup, provides the most reliable information on private imports of alcoholic beverages. Every week, 500 respondents have been interviewed over the telephone about their travels during the previous two weeks. A total of 20,513 interviews have been conducted this year. Organised black-market imports and illegal sales of alcohol are not included in the research results.

The Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry promotes the interests of producers of beer, cider, long drinks, soft drinks and mineral waters in Finland. Its members are Oy Hartwall Ab, Nokian Panimo Oy, Olvi Oyj and Oy Sinebrychoff Ab. The Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry operates in connection with the Finnish Food and Drink Industries' Federation and is among the four largest industries in the food and drink branch in terms of the value of production.

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