site.btaBreweries Post Sales of Lv 500 Mln for 2016

Sofia, July 20 (BTA) - Bulgarian brewers have seen steady growth, with sales reaching 500 million leva in 2016. The Union of Brewers in Bulgaria (UBB) accounted for 467 million leva of them.

The Union, which celebrates the Day of the Prophet Elijah, July 20, as its professional holiday, says that beer is becoming increasingly popular in Bulgaria, as is evident from both national and EU data.

The last three years saw investments of 164 million leva in tangible fixed assets for beer and malt production. Capital investments in new bottling and packaging plant, energy effective equipment and the modernization of production and logistics units account for the largest share of investments. UBB data show that over 1,170 million leva have been invested since 1994 when privatization began in the brewing industry.

The Union's Executive Director, Ivana Radomirova, said budget revenues from beer production and sales topped 350 million leva in 2016, including nearly 140 million leva in excise duty and VAT. The six beer companies which are UBB members account for some 95 per cent of those revenues.

In 2016 production totalled 5,180,000 hectolitres of beer, of which nearly 99 per cent was brewed by those companies. This output was a record high since 2008, with exports growing by 8 per cent and imports (from EU and non-EU countries) falling by 2 per cent for the first time.

The Union's members placed six new brands and dozens of label and packaging innovations on the market in the first half of 2017. Sales are comparable to a year earlier.

Beer with less than 2 per cent alcohol by volume and alcohol-free beer are becoming popular in this country. Beer production is the only alcohol industry whose products can range between 0 and 0.5 per cent alcohol by volume.