As the SARS crisis is over in China and other Asian countries, it is obvious that large sales were lost during the critical two months, which cannot be fully compensated by larger sales in the months to come. The beer industry sits on old malt and barley stocks, and the market of raw materials is still dormant. But restaurants and pubs are crowded again, and more important, the economy, especially in China, is absolutely in full swing. Therefore SARS will remain an episode without a long-term influence on the Asian economy.

18 July, 2003