Glug Glug ?? Not Not !

Bulgaria’s beer sales watered down by 11% in 2009

Bulgaria’s domestic beer consumption shrank by 11% to 4.87 million hectolitres in 2009 from the eyar before, shows data of the Union of Bulgarian Brewers.
Beer served in bars and restaurants have suffered the steepest drop while home drinkers have trimmed beer budgets the least.
The industry group unites five of the six breweries operating on the Bulgarian market including Boliarka BT, Zagorka, Kamenitza, Carlsberg Bulgaria and Lomsko Pivo. Counting volumes sold by Ledenika MM takes the total to slightly over 5 million hectolitres.
“The downturn has hit most severely immediate beer consumption in the highest price ranges”, said Kamen Aleksov, marketing director of Carlsberg Bulgaria, the local unit of the Danish brewery group.
“This means consumption of glass-bottled beer is increasingly dwindling as these are sold mostly in bars and restaurants, which have borne the brunt”, added Dragan Radivoevic, Kamenitza’s general manager for Bulgaria.
Breweries are bracing themselves for an extension of the downtrend into 2010, when the slump is seen in the 3-5% range.
In 2009, most consumers opted for plastic-bottle beer, which sliced 48% off the market. Glass-bottled beer grabbed a 42.5%share, while draft had only 5.5%. Canned beer accounted for an even slimmer 4%.