Czech Republic: Breweries raise beer output by 3.4% in January-September 2006

Czech breweries produced 14.96 million hectolitres of beer in the first three quarters of the year, a year-on-year growth of 3.4 percent, said Jan Vesely, head of the Czech Beer and Malt Association, The Prague Daily Monitor published October 24.

In the first eight months, output grew by 5 percent year-on-year, but the September output fell by 8 percent as many breweries reduced output for the Czech and foreign markets.

Vesely said the September data were difficult to explain, but they should not affect the expected full-year results.

Export data for the first nine months are not available, but Vesely said he expected a similar growth as in the first half, when it reached 17 percent.

Full-year output should grow by at least 2 percent to some 19.5 million hectolitres, mainly owing to a growth in exports which should add at least 15 percent to top 3.5 million hectolitres.

Czech beer output has been growing above all on sales abroad as exports made up almost 18 percent of total output in the first half, up from less than 16 percent a year earlier.

Globally, the share of exports is about 6 percent on average. Almost all Czech industrial breweries export part of their output.

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