Serbia: Beer sales in Serbia dropping every year by 1-2%

Beer sales in Serbia are dropping every year by one or two percent due to changes in the structure of the market, according to a leading drinks industry representative quoted by ESM on December 24.

In an interview for local daily Blic, the CEO of Carlsberg South-East Europe, Gabor Bekefi, explained that sales of cheap beer are rising as people want to save, while when going out Serbians are prepared to pay for quality premium beer, boosting consumption in this segment as well. However, on the downside, sales of mainstream beer are suffering.

Significantly, sales of Serbian beer are growing strong in countries where there is a large diaspora such as Australia, Germany and Austria. In addition, due to the low production costs, Carlsberg’s Serbian base is seen as a good point for exporting products to neighboring countries such as Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, and Bulgaria.

Commenting on the recently-announced tax hike for alcohol products, Bekefi pointed out that, when comparing the level of excise with purchasing power, Serbia has the largest or second largest taxes in Europe. This may cause beer to be somewhat more expensive, which ultimately could affect the consumption of beer next year.

In a related development, Andrej Beslac has been named as the new General Manager of Carlsberg Serbia Group, which covers the markets of Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro. From 1 January 2016, he will replace Gabor Bekefi who has been holding various managerial positions at the company in the region of southeast Europe over the last five years. During his 11 years at Carlsberg Serbia, Beslac has so far worked as Business Development Director, Marketing Director and, over the past three years, as Sales Director.

30 December, 2015