Japan: Beer shipments up 3.3% in July

Beer and quasi-beer shipments in July rose 3.3 percent from a year before to 44,374,000 cases, the first rise in two years for the month, data from four major brewers in Japan showed on August 12.

The growth was led by brisk shipments in early July amid heat waves in the Kanto region, where the rainy season ended earlier than usual.

Of the total, beer shipments rose 5.6 percent to 23,925,000 cases, with growth in sales to both restaurants and households.

Shipments of beer as gifts were up 8.3 percent, marking the first rise since 1997 for the month, backed by the popularity of high-end premium beer products.

Meanwhile, shipments of so-called third-segment beerlike beverages, which are cheaper than regular beer as they contain little to no malt, grew 2 percent to 14,763,000 cases, up for the seventh straight month.

Those of happoshu low-malt quasi-beer dropped 2.6 percent to 5,686,000 cases. Each case contains the equivalent of 20 633-milliliter bottles.

Asahi Breweries Ltd. and Suntory Liquors Ltd. logged year-on-year increases in beer and beerlike beverage shipments due to strong gift product sales.

14 August, 2013