Imported beer sales in Russia are falling sharply – in April they fell by more than 30% year-on-year, while the share of foreign brands in the category has decreased from 6.2% to 3.8% since the beginning of the year.
Writes about this “Kommersant” with reference to the review of NielsenIQ.
“According to analysts, if over the past year sales of imported beer grew at the highest rates in the category – by 22.4% in volume terms, then in April they decreased immediately by 30.7% year-on-year. And the sales rates of local brands increased from 1, 8 to 5.9% respectively.
As a result, since January, the share of imported beer in the market has decreased from 6.2% to 3.8%, while the share of local beer has increased from 65.3% to 67.6%,” the article says.
Among the reasons for the sharp drop in import beer sales are “logistical difficulties and the geopolitical crisis.”
Experts add that the decline in sales of imported beer also led to a reduction in the share of the premium segment, where foreign brands were predominantly located.
According to NielsenIQ, high-end sales fell 4.4% yoy in April, while the premium share fell to 12.9% from 14.6% in January. Sales of beer in the low price segment grew in April by 6.9% yoy at once, and the average price segment grew by 4.4%.
Chairman of the Council of the Union of Russian Brewers Daniil Briman says that Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK have already stopped beer supplies to Russia, and the Czech Republic and Germany will not be able to replace the dropped varieties.
The newspaper recalls that in March, the brewing companies Carlsberg Group and Heineken announced the cessation of work in Russia.
Producers of Czech beer Plzensky Prazdroj (brands Velkopopovický Kozel, Pilsner Urquell and Gambrinus), Budejovicky Budvar (Budweiser Budvar), Staropramen and Bernard also announced the termination of production and supplies to Russia.