Domestic sales by members of the Finnish Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry 1 January - 31 March 2009
During the first quarter of 2009, Finns drank a total of 168.5 million litres of brewery beverages. Total sales fell by almost four per cent. Beer sales were down by 2.7 per cent and sales of non-alcoholic beverages, soft drinks and mineral waters also declined. Only long drink sales continued to grow, increasing by 8.8 per cent.
According to the Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry’s latest statistics, a total of 168.5 million litres of beer, cider, long drinks, soft drinks and mineral waters were sold in Finland during the January-March period of 2009. This represents a fall of 3.9 per cent on the corresponding period of 2008. Sales of alcoholic beverages were down by 3.0 million litres and sales of non-alcoholic beverages by 3.8 million litres on the previous year.
Hartwall, Nokian Panimo, Olvi and Sinebrychoff had sold a total of 82.8 million litres of beer by the end of March, representing a fall of 2.3 million litres, or 2.7 per cent, on the previous year. Easter did not fall during the first quarter in 2009.
During the January-March period, cider sales reached 6.3 million litres and long drink sales 7.3 million litres. Cider sales were down 1.3 million litres on last year – a full 16.7 per cent. However, growth of 0.6 million litres was seen in long drinks, an 8.8 per cent rise on 2008.
A total of 59.7 million litres of soft drinks and 12.4 million litres of mineral waters were sold during the first quarter. Sales of soft drinks fell 2.0 million litres, or 3.3 per cent, and sales of mineral waters were down by 1.8 million litres, or 12.4 per cent.
“It’s impossible to make extensive predictions of the trend in full-year beverage sales from the short first quarter alone. Recent alcohol taxation decisions and the current economic climate do not, however, indicate a promising outlook for the rest of the year,” says Timo Jaatinen, Managing Director of the Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry.
“Private imports by travellers during the coming summer months will be a decisive question mark for beverage sales throughout the industry.”
DOMESTIC SALES JANUARY - MARCH 2009
|
2009
mill.l. |
2008
mill.l. |
Change
mill.l. |
Change
% |
| Beer |
82,8 |
85,1 |
-4,0 |
-4,6 |
| Cider |
6,3 |
7,5 |
-0,3 |
-0,4 |
| Long Drinks |
7,3 |
6,7 |
0,4 |
5,7 |
| Soft Drinks |
59,7 |
61,8 |
-0,2 |
-0,4 |
| Mineral Water |
12,7 |
14,2 |
0,0 |
-0,2 |
| Total sales |
168,5 |
175,2 |
-4,3 |
-2,4 |
Source: Member companies of the Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry. The statistics do not include sales by actors outside the Federation, nor private imports of brewery products, which are not statistically recorded.
Additional information:
Communications Manager Katri Tuulensuu, tel. +358 (0)9 1488 7601, GSM +358 (0)40 777 1938
Managing Director Timo Jaatinen, tel. +358 (0)9 1488 71
The Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry promotes the interests of producers of beer, cider, long drinks, soft drinks and mineral waters in Finland. Its members are Oy Hartwall Ab, Nokian Panimo Oy, Olvi Oyj and Oy Sinebrychoff Ab. The Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry operates in connection with the Finnish Food and Drink Industries Federation and is among the four largest industries in the food and drink branch in terms of the value of production.