E-Malt.com News article: Thailand: Beer sales set to rise this year owing to the Euro 2012 soccer tournament and the Olympics

Sales of beer and cigarettes are set to rise this year as distributors are starting to stock products ahead of two major upcoming sports events, according to the Office of Industrial Economics (OIE).

Anan Assawasoponkul, director of the Industrial Economics Information Centre, said this period is usually a low season for alcohol, as it coincides with the three-month Buddhist Lent period, Bangkok Post reported on May, 29.

But the Euro 2012 soccer tournament next month and the Olympics in July and August are major factors that will push sales of beer throughout the year.

In addition, Singha beer last year opened a new factory, Singha Beverage, in Nakhon Pathom province to produce and increase production capacity of its Leo beer.

Singha used to produce Leo at its Khon Kaen Brewery and Pathum Thani Beverage factories, but the latter now produces only its Singha and Asahi brands.

Beer production in April increased by 8.19% and sales by 4.53% year-on-year. Cigarette production and sales went up by 16.9% and 5.7%, respectively.

More details were not available.

"Last month manufacturers sped up their production in line with the growing economy and the long holidays, while the product is also commonly used alongside with alcohol consumption [which is set to increase during the sports events]," said Mr Anan.

"Moreover, there were rumours last month of a 5% increase in taxes for cigarettes, and sales representatives were rushing to stock the products ahead of the events."

In a related development, Thailand's manufacturing production index stood at 166.2 points last month, up from 165.31 in April 2011 and the first time in eight months the index showed signs of recovery.

The index has fallen since last September, reaching its lowest in November due to the floods.

Aphiwat Asamaporn, the OIE's deputy director-genera, said the index should see a further improvement as the hard-disk-drive sector expects to resume full production by the end of the third quarter.



30 May, 2012