Beer sales, output down; excessive excise tax blamed

Drinks

Beer sales dropped 4.45% year-on-year in 2013, according to statistics compiled by the Association of Hungarian Brewers from top domestic producers, and output was down 2% y.o.y. to 6.185 million hectoliters.

“The experience of the past five years shows that when the excise tax is not increased, the beer flows and tax revenue increases,” reckoned association president Klára Kovács-Csík. Some HUF 66 billion was paid by brewers in taxation in 2013.

Kovács-Csík went on to explain when announcing the figures that, while low-price and premium beer brands saw an uptick in sales in 2013, price-conscious consumers drove down sales of mid-range beers and thus the industry results.

The four largest companies – Borsodi, Dreher, Heineken and Pécsi – accounted for some 95% of sales in Hungary.

Some 24,300 were employed at breweries and related industries in 2013.

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