Australia: Shortages of Corona beer to continue into the holidays

Shortages of Corona beer in Australia will continue into the holidays, according to distributor Carlton & United Breweries, the Australian Brews News reported on December 10.

CUB said that increased demand and low supply due to logistics issues in shipping the beer over are causing the shortages.

In April, AB InBev, owners of Corona parent company Grupo Modelo, halted production of the beer after the Mexican government declared a national health emergency.

A spokesperson for CUB said that specific states would be affected by the shortages.

“These shortages will continue in coming weeks and we expect retailers, particularly in NSW and Victoria, will be intermittently out of stock,” they said.

“The shortages are due to a recent increase in demand along with supply issues stemming from COVID-19, particularly international shipping congestion and issues at Australian ports.

“More than 600,000 cartons of Corona will be delivered between this week and the end of December which will help replenish stock and meet the increased demand.”

Despite the shortages and associations with the pandemic virus, in August Corona was named the world’s most valuable beer brand, valued at US$8.1 billion.

CUB reclaimed Corona distribution rights from Lion in 2016 following the acquisition by AB InBev of its then-parent company SABMiller.

While the majority of the beer is brewed in Mexico, in recent years AB InBev has attempted to shift production to local markets, launching local market production in the UK and China in 2019, although there has been no indication yet that this could happen in Australia.

10 December, 2020