E-Malt.com News article: Turkey: Anadolu Efes expects new restrictions to limit beer industry growth

Turkey’s biggest brewer and SABMiller partner Anadolu Efes expects new restrictions on marketing and sales of alcohol to limit beer industry growth in the country, BeverageDaily.com reported on August 19.

Beer in Turkey is already very heavily taxed – the highest excise in Europe after Finland.

“New measures will probably limit the growth potential of the industry in the coming years,” Anadolu Efes corporate and regulatory affairs group director, Saltuk Ertop, said.

Anadolu Efes held an 89% share of the Turkish beer market in October 2011, and Ertop assessed the impact of the new law, introduced in May, that includes restrictions on the marketing and sale of alcoholic beverages including beer.

“Some of the restrictions are already in-force (such as advertisements), but some others (such as a night sales ban) are coming into force gradually,” he said.

“We therefore believe that it is a bit early to talk about the consequences of the new law on our sales results. However, one can anticipate that these restrictions will increase the pressure on the industry in Turkey,” he said.

The Turkish government also issued rules relating to the labelling of drinks around a week ago, and beer bottles and cans (subject to a 10-month implementation phase) must now carry cigarette-style packet warning messages such as “Alcohol is Not Your Friend”.

Carlsberg brands SKOL, Carlsberg and Tuborg are brewed in Turkey by another major national brewer Turk Tuborg, which is owned by Israel based CBC Group.

Ben Morton, Carlsberg spokesman said, “We have been working together with our partner to ensure we are complying with all parts of the new regulation. We have not seen any volume effects in the market yet.”


23 August, 2013