E-Malt.com News article: Japan: Weaker yen boosts craft beer market

The government will continue to strive for a weaker yen to help boost Japanese exports. The flipside of that, however, is that a weaker yen will drive up the consumer prices of imported products, including imported beer, Japan Daily Press reported on June, 11.

Japan is generally a beer-drinking culture, and imported beers are heavily consumed. But small local breweries – makers of locally made craft beers – are hoping that the economic situation will drive more people to opt for locally brewed ale.

Naoyuki Ide, president of Yo-Ho Brewing Co., is boosting production output and capacity at his microbrewery in Nagano by 50 percent this year. He is betting and anticipating the currency’s decline that will eventually force importers to raise prices for foreign brands, giving local craft brewers a competitive edge. “If the yen weakens more, they’ll have to increase import beer prices in the near future,” said Ide. “Import beers cater to people’s growing taste for beer with character, but if customers are looking for something distinct, they may choose our beer instead, because it’ll be cheaper,” he added hopefully.

Data from 2012 show optimistic numbers, as import beer volume fell to 40.7 mln liters in 2012 from 42.4 mln liters in 2011. Ide noted that prices for imported beer haven’t risen yet, suggesting that local retailers may be absorbing the brunt of the hit by lowering profit margins. But the price increase is bound to happen sooner or later, and local Japanese microbreweries will be on hand to cash in when they do.

The demand for microbrews seems to be gaining traction, mainly for the distinct and unique flavors these craft beers have. Japan’s large scale breweries have been suffering a decline in the past few years, but the demand for microbrews has been increasing. The Japanese beer-drinking public is even looking for American microbrews more and more. The nation’s imports of U.S. craft beer surged 57 percent in 2012, according to numbers from the Colorado-based Brewers Association.

And many of the Japanese microbreweries are putting out good quality products now. In recent years, those who stuck with craft brewing gradually raised the quality of their products. “This is the second microbrew boom in Japan,” said Joji Uehara, a researcher at Tokyo Shoko Research.


14 June, 2013