Japan: January beer shipments up 7.8%, Kirin regains No. 1 share

Shipments of beer and beer-like alcoholic beverages by top five producers rose 7.8 % in January from a year earlier for the first increase in three months as so-called "third-category beer" posted sharp growth, industry figures showed on February 10, according to Kyodo News.

Kirin Brewery Co. regained the position as holder of the biggest market share, beating Asahi Breweries Ltd. by a small margin.

The brisk shipment result in January is also a reflection of weak sales in the same month of 2005 affected by a ban on rebates for sales promotions, the Brewers Association of Japan and beer makers said.

Shipments by Kirin, Asahi, Sapporo Breweries Ltd., Suntory Ltd. and Orion Breweries Ltd. came to 23.21 million cases. One case holds 20 633-milliliter bottles.

Shipments of third-category beer, or beer-like sparkling drinks, nearly doubled to 3.94 million cases, accounting for 17 percent of the market. Products in this category are cheaper than both regular and low-malt beer as they are taxed at a lower rate.

Regular beer shipments rose 7.9 percent to 13.63 million cases for the first expansion in three months, while shipments of "happoshu" low-malt beer slumped 19.6 percent to 5.63 million cases for the 18th straight month of decline.

Asahi captured a 37.7 percent share of the overall beer market through a 12.8 percent increase in shipments to 8.74 million cases. Although Kirin did not disclose its shipment figures, industry data put its market share at about 38 percent.

Asahi has been Japan's biggest maker of beer and beer-like alcoholic beverages in terms of annual shipments since 2001, when it replaced Kirin. Last year, however, Kirin trailed Asahi only by a margin of around 3 percentage points thanks to brisk sales of its third-category beer.

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