Bulgaria: Beer sales gained 11.8% year-on-year in January-September 2006

Domestic beer sales rose 11.8% year-on-year to 3.9 million hl in January-September 2006, shows data released by the Union of Brewers in Bulgaria (UBB), Dnevnik released October 16.
Actual beer consumption is somewhat higher if the business of locally-owned brewer Ledenika&MM is taken into account. The company is not a UBB member and therefore does not report on its sales performance to the union.

Beer sales fell 35.5% month-on-month to 432,500 hl in September as the market left behind the summer consumption peak.

Heineken-owned Zagorka AD outsold the competition in September, moving 149,700 hl. The company is also the YTD champ with 1.245 million hl.

Carlsberg pipped Kamenitza for the runner-up spot in September with 113,961 hl versus 110,900 hl for its InBev-owned rival.

However, in the YTD rankings, Kamenitza is ahead of Carlsberg with 1.2 million hl.
InBev, Heineken and Carlsberg Bulgaria own 76% of the local beer market.

The UBB members logged sales of 4.78 million hl in 2005, a fractional improvement on the 4.73 million hl in sales recorded the year before.

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