Russia: Efes Breweries International N.V. lifted the share of Russian beer market to 9% in January-September 2006

Interfax news agency reported November 14 that Efes Breweries International N.V. increased its share of the Russian beer market to 9% in January-September 2006 compared to 7.5% at the end of September 2005, Efes CEO Ahmet Boyacioglu said at a conference on the Russian food industry organized by the Adam Smith Institute.

The 9% share includes the Krasny Vostok brewery, which Efes acquired in February 2006, he said. The company has an 18% share of the Kazakh market, a 64% share of the Moldovan market and a 9% share of the Serbian market, he said.

Following the acquisition of Krasny Vostok, Efes has production capacity of 20.7 million hectoliters of beer per year, Boyacioglu said.

The company now has sufficient production capacity in Russia, he said. "We would like to concentrate more on brands," he said.

Such Russian brands as Stary Melnik, Bely Medved and Sokol have started being exported to other countries where Efes is present, he said. These brands will soon start being exported to Moldova. "A balance needs to be found between imports and exports," he said.

15 November, 2006