Czech Republic: Domestic breweries raised exports by 17 percent in 1H 2006
Czech breweries raised exports by 17 percent year-on-year to 1.7 million hectolitres in the first half of the year, the Czech Beer and Malt Association said August 24, Czech News Agency Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge accordingly released.
Production for the Czech market increased too, adding 2 percent to 7.85 million hectolitres. On the whole, Czech breweries produced 9.55 million hectolitres in the period, up 4.4 percent from a year ago.
"The first-half results confirm a trend of the past few years: Czech beer production continues to grow, and exports in particular increase," said Frantisek Krakes, chairman of the Association. "Practically all Czech industrial breweries export part of their production," he added.
The share of exports in production rose to almost 18 percent from 16 percent in the first half of 2005. Germany was the largest foreign market with a share topping 40 percent, followed by Slovakia. Exports to Ukraine, Belgium, Finland, Sweden and Russia grew the fastest, while exports to the USA and Britain dropped year-on-year.
Krakes said first-half sales to the domestic market blossomed on good weather, although the climate had the biggest impact only in July, when some producers reported record sales. Another factor was an increase in the number of foreign tourists.
In the first half, Czech breweries raised the production of alcohol-free beer by 20 percent year-on-year owing to a changing lifestyle and tighter rules for drivers.
Plzensky Prazdroj, a unit of SABMiller, retained the position of the largest Czech beer producer, ahead of InBev's Pivovary Staropramen and national company Budejovicky Budvar.
Earlier estimates put this year's beer output at 19.5 million hectolitres, mainly owing to a growth in exports to 3.5 million hectolitres. Last year, Czech breweries produced 19.07 million hectolitres of beer, with exports at 3.1 million hectolitres.
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