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Peru, Lima: Compania Cervecera AmBev Peru officially started building a $ 40 million brewery Thursday, October 28, south of Lima, according to Dow Jones. The new brewery is to start production in the first half of 2005. "All our resources are focused on building the plant, and we estimate it will take six months," said general manager Carlos Bembhy at a ceremony on the 14.5 hectare lot in Huachipa.

Bembhy said, " AmBev Peru's entry in the market will immediately bring down the price of beer for Peruvian consumers." Several land disputes in the area delayed construction. The brewery was originally to be up and running by mid-2004. "We have faced many obstacles, but things are on the right track now. We expect to enter the Peruvian market by April or May next year," he said.

So far, AmBev Peru has invested $56 million in Peru and expects to bring its total investment to $80 million with the construction of the plant. The plant will have the capacity to produce 1 million hectoliters a year, which represents roughly 16% of the national market, Bembhy said. "If demand responds as we expect, it can easily be expanded," he said.

The company's aim is to sell Peruvian-produced beer, but Bembhy did't rule out taking advantage of Peru's summer months, which begin in January, by importing beer. "We are analyzing that possibility. We cannot ignore the fact that summer is important," he said. Meanwhile, Bembhy was critical of what he termed "market access barriers."

He called on Peru's consumer defense agency Indecopi to allow AmBev Peru to use the same type of bottles as Union de Cervecerias Peruanas Backus & Johnston SAA, or Backus, to sell beer. Backus, controlled by Colombia's Bavaria SA, has monopolized beer production in Peru and has consistently argued that the 620 milliliter bottles are exclusive to it. More than 85% of beer in Peru is consumed from those bottles, which are exchanged when empty for full bottles. So far, AmBev Peru has been barred from manufacturing the bottles. "The responsible bodies should understand that this is a barrier to access. We are very optimistic that we will have a positive solution to our demand," Bembhy said.

AmBev Peru entered the Peruvian market in October 2003, when it bought two plants, the right to bottle PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) products and a distribution network that serves Lima and northern Peru from a Peruvian bottler.

Brazil's Companhia das Bebidas das Americas SA, or AmBev, has merged with brewer Interbrew SA to create InBev.


30 October, 2004