NEWS
JAPAN’S BEER SALES DROPPED IN H1 WHILE WINE IMPORTS UP IN MAY AMID STATE OF EMERGENCY
By Susan Lewis
12-7-2021
Credit: Kwon Youn/Unsplash
Japan’s beer sales fell while wine imports increased amid state of emergency where bars and restaurants had to stop serving alcohol.
According to reports by national broadcaster NHK, brewing giant Suntory’s beer sales fell 11 percent by volume in the first half of 2021 compared to same period last year.
Sales of Sapporo beers fell 5 percent and that of Kirin’s dropped 2 percent. While brewing giant Asahi’s sales fell 8 percent by value at the same period.
The report said market for beer beverages had been shrinking due to the growing popularity of wine and other drinks categories during the pandemic.
NHK quoted Kirin Brewery President Fuse Takayuki as saying that they had expected demand to return with seasonal events as well as the Olympic Games. He added that they were disappointed with the low demand and expected the situation to remain challenging.
Meanwhile, Japan’s wine imports in May increased 16 percent to 14.6 billion yen (USD133million), according to government statistics.
This is despite that nine prefectures, including its capital Tokyo, were under state of emergency during the month.
However, year-to-date data showed that the value of imported wines fell 3 percent to 67 billion yen.
Most of the wines imported by Japan in May came from France, rising 21 percent by value to to 8.3 billion yen. But between January and May, the value of imported French wines was slightly down by 0.3 percent.
Wine imports from Italy and Chile, Japan’s second and third biggest source of wines, were down 2 percent and 16 percent respectively in May.
However, wine imports from USA and Spain were on the rise, increasing by 14 percent and 44 percent respectively in the month.
(the writer can be contacted at: info@thewinechronicle.com)
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