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PRESS RELEASE: 27.08.2009

Domestic sales by members of the Finnish Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry 1 January - 31 June 2009

Beer sales stable - soft drink tax is inequitable

According to the latest sales figures from the Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry, sales of brewery beverages in Finland fell by 1.6 per cent during the January-June period. A total of 402.7 million litres of beverages were sold. Beer sales remained at a similar level to last year, while long drink sales continued to grow. Sales of other beverages fell.

By the end of June, Finns had consumed a total of 402.7 million litres of brewery beverages, that is, beer, cider, long drinks, soft drinks and mineral waters. Total sales fell by 6.6 million litres, or 1.6 per cent, on the corresponding period of 2008.

Beer sales remained virtually on a par with last year. A total of 203.1 million litres of beer were sold, representing a fall of 0.2 million litres, or 0.1 per cent.

Cider sales fell to 16.4 million litres, while long drink sales rose to 19.4 million litres. Cider sales decreased by 2.8 million litres – a fall of 14.5 per cent. Long drink sales increased by 2.3 million litres, or 13.2 per cent.

Members of the Federation sold a total of 134.8 million litres of soft drinks by the end of June. Soft drink sales fell by 1.9 million litres, or 1.4 per cent. A total of 29.1 million litres of mineral waters were sold, representing a fall of 4 million litres, or 12.1 per cent.

DOMESTIC SALES JANUARY - JUNE 2009

Beverage
 2009
mill. l
 2008
mill. l
 Change
mill. l
 Change
%
Beer
 203.1
 203.4
 -0.2
 -0.1
Cider
 16.4
 19.1
 -2.8
 -14.5
Long drinks
 19.4
 17.1
 2.3
 13.2
Soft drinks
 134.8
 136.6
 -1.9
 -1.4
Mineral water
 29.1
 33.1
 -4.0
 -12.1
Total sales
 402.7
 409.4
 -6.6
 -1.6

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.

Soft drink tax is inequitable
In its budgetary process, the government has decided to reinstate the tax on sweets and raise the soft drink tax. The latter is not a new type of tax; it has been levied in Finland since the 1940s.

“As it stands, the soft drink tax is discriminatory and unfair to competition, since it is levied only on carbonated soft drinks, mineral waters and certain juices, regardless of whether the beverage contains sugar. Many similar beverages that contain not only sugar but also fat are exempt from this tax. The soft drink tax therefore cannot be justified for reasons of national health. This is also evident from the inconsistency that carbonated water is subject to the tax, but noncarbonated is not. In fact, all waters should be exempted from the soft drink tax in the tax reform,” says Tero Kallio, Managing Director of the Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry.

“Raising the tax only on the soft drinks it currently applies to instead of all beverages containing sugar (such as milk coffees, juices, yoghurt products) is discriminatory and unfair to competition. This inequity must be remedied. All beverages must be equal under the law,” Kallio demands. “On average, soft drinks represent only two per cent of the sugar intake of consumers. One or two fields of industry cannot be expected to bear the responsibility for the government’s target of generating EUR 135 million in tax revenues, but this responsibility is now being inflicted on the soft drinks and confectionery industries.”

Additional information:
Communications Manager Katri Tuulensuu, tel. +358 (0)9 1488 7601, GSM +358 (0)40 777 1938
Managing Director Tero Kallio, 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.

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