Finland: Beer sales down 6% in January – September 2010

The statistics of the Finnish Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry said on October, 29 that a total of 304.3 million litres of beer had been sold by the end of September*.

Sales declined by 19.5 mln litres, or 6 per cent in the first nine months of this year, the Federation said.

“The statistics that are now being published show that demand for mild alcoholic beverages is down. Furthermore, the total consumption of alcoholic beverages has declined in recent years. Good judgment should be exercised in discussions on advertising. Although the amount of money spent on beer advertising in Finland has fallen almost by a half since 2004, beer consumption has remained steady. In the rest of the world, such as in Germany and the UK, total consumption has remained almost flat even when the advertising spend has been increased substantially,” says Elina Ussa, Managing Director of the Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry.

*The statistics do not include sales by actors outside the Federation, nor private imports of brewery products, which are not statistically recorded.

03 November, 2010