Difficult year for breweries

Sales of bottled beer increased somewhat, while sales of draught beer dropped slightly last year. Demand for alcohol-free beer continued to shrink. The import of premium beers increased substantially. Members of the Association of Hungarian Breweries – Borsodi Sörgyár Zrt, Heineken Hungária Nyrt, Dréher Sörgyárak Zrt, Pécsi Sörfőzde Zrt. – increased their overall production by 4.7 percent last year, with export accounting for half of this increase. Traditional brands accounted for 52 percent of total domestic sales. 2007 was a difficult year for the brewery industry. The total amount of taxes paid by the industry were up by HUF 3.5 billion. Costs grew at a faster rate than prices last year. While demand had showed healthy expansion in the first half of 2007, it dropped drastically in the second half of the year, leading to annual growth of only 2-3 percent. A code of communication has been in use by the members of the Association of Hungarian Breweries for the second year. Furthermore, a campaign against drink driving has also been conducted by the organisation. A highly popular photo competition was also organised by the Association in 2007.