E-Malt.com News article: 3630

Russia: Russians consume on the spot 20 to 30 % of the beer they buy, industry analysts say. About 67 % of Sun Interbrew's Russian sales are from about 500,000 street kiosks. Only 6 % of Sun Interbrew's sales are in restaurants, according to Aton Capital, an investment bank.

The bill would also establish for the first time a minimum drinking age - 18 - in Russia. Beer companies were careful to say that while they supported any bill that would prevent minors drinking, they opposed restrictions on TV advertising, promotions at sports events and sponsorships. "We want the right to be able to advertise to our adult consumers," Mr Gietz said.

Aleksei Krivoshapko, a consumer products analyst for UFG investment bank, wrote in a note to clients: "The revised law will most likely be reshaped to solely address underage drinking." Russia's Beer Union and most brewers, as well as the government administration, all supported keeping beer out of the hands of minors, he said.

Beer companies are reaping huge profits in Russia, and the industry is one of the few ways investors can get exposure to the boom in consumer goods in the former Soviet Union. In October, Efes Breweries International of Turkey, which sells 60 per cent of its beer in Russia, made an initial offering of stock.

Baltika, co-owned by Carlsberg and Britain's Scottish and Newcastle, is Russia's largest brewing business, selling 16.17 million hectolitres of beer in 2003, earning it a market share of 20.6 per cent. Russia's second-largest brewer, Sun Interbrew, reported this week that third-quarter profit rose 46 per cent to $US60 million ($78.5 million).


12 November, 2004