Fizz Going Out of Beer Market in Croatia

It was meant to be a year that the major breweries were expecting to cash in on. A football World Cup, forecast for record high summer temperatures, and an increase in tourist arrivals, but Croatia’s early exit in Brazil, an indifferent summer, and a diminishing purchasing power has seen the beer market shrink this year…

According to data from the Brewers Association, in the first 9 months of 2014 there has been a 5% decline in sales compared with the same period last year.

“The main generator for the decline was the unpleasant weather during what is the warmest part of the year,” the Association President Pero Ivanković told Tportal, adding that Croatia departing Brazil after the first round also had an effect on sales this year.

The statistics are more than concerning for the industry, after a number of years of decline, this year many expected the market to recover, but those factors Ivanković touched on, and the fact the average Croats purchasing power is gradually weakening, plunged the industry deeper in the minus.

Market leader Zagrebačka pivovara, who have a 45% share of the market in Croatia, said that the third quarter this year was one of their weakest, with a 10% drop in sales compared to the same period last year.

Karlovačka pivovara, who with a 25% share are the second biggest players on the market, blamed diminishing purchasing power for the limp year. Croats have always been among Europe’s biggest beer drinkers, consuming on average 82 litres of beer each per year. The sharp drop in sales over the last couple of years may soon cost them their spot.