E-Malt.com News article: 2265

Fomento Economico Mexicano, S.A. de C.V. (FEMSA), began raising its beer prices in Mexico by around 5% earlier in February and will complete the price increase by the first week of March, said company’s officials in a conference call.

Head of finance for the company’s beer division, Gerardo Estrada, said on February 27 at the conference: “The price increase started in February. We’re in the process of rolling it out, and expect to finish this week or the next.”

“Market conditions are appropriate for selective price increases,” Federico Reyes, vice president for planning and finance, said on the conference call with analysts.

The announcement follows the action of Femsa’s main competitor, Grupo Modelo, which raised its beer prices by around 4% last month in some regions of Mexico. It was the brewer’s first domestic price increase in two years as well.

The price rises come at a time when the country’s economic growth looks set for an upturn after a sluggish 24 months. Economists expect Mexico’s gross domestic product to grow by more than 3% in 2004.

Femsa has not decided yet if it will raise its beer prices in the US. Modelo upped its US beer prices by 3% earlier this year.


01 March, 2004