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PRESS RELEASE: 29.10.2010 Domestic sales by members of the Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry, 1 Jan 2010 – 30 Sep 2010 Sales of mild alcoholic beverages are declining – the Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry calls for sensible advertising solutionsThe statistics of the Finnish
Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry indicate that a total of
360.6 million litres of beer, ciders and long drinks had been sold by the end
of September. Sales of mild alcoholic beverages saw a year-on-year decline of
21.3 million litres, or 5.6 per cent. “The statistics that are now being published show that demand for mild alcoholic beverages is down. Furthermore, the total consumption of alcoholic beverages has declined in recent years. Good judgment should be exercised in discussions on advertising. Although the amount of money spent on beer advertising in Finland has fallen almost by a half since 2004, beer consumption has remained steady. In the rest of the world, such as in Germany and the UK, total consumption has remained almost flat even when the advertising spend has been increased substantially," says Elina Ussa, Managing Director of the Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry. “Advertising affects competition between brands rather than total consumption. More stringent restrictions on alcohol advertising would mean that Finnish players would only be able to compete against foreign brands with their product pricing. Further intensifying price competition in the alcohol market would hardly serve anyone’s interests," says Ussa. Alcohol advertising is less regulated in 24 EU countries than in Finland. The only countries where advertising restrictions are more stringent than in Finnish legislation are France and Sweden. Alcohol consumption is higher in continental Europe, but it has fewer adverse impacts there. We are all concerned about underage alcohol consumption The Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry shares the general concerns about underage alcohol consumption. Young people are now starting to drink alcohol at a later age and their attitudes to binge drinking have become more critical. “We are heading in the right direction. Above all, we must focus on the real problem – how underage children get their hands on alcohol. Instead of imposing new restrictions, our entire society – the authorities, industry, the retail sector, schools, homes and NGOs – should join forces to solve this problem. Alcohol is a beverage for adults," says Ussa. Instead of restricting advertising, we should emphasise the responsibilities of parents and other adults for underage alcohol consumption. Beverage sales are declining Members of the Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry had sold 612.3 million litres of beverages by the end of September. Total sales were down 20.2 million litres, or 3.2 per cent. By the end of September, members of the Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry had sold a total of 304.3 million litres of beer, representing a fall of 19.5 million litres, or 6.0 per cent, on 2009. Long drink sales amounted to 32.3 million litres, down 0.2 million litres, or 0.6 per cent. Cider sales saw a year-on-year decline of 1.6 million litres, or 6.3 per cent. In the January-September period, cider sales totalled 23.9 million litres. Hartwall, Nokian Panimo, Olvi and Sinebrychoff had sold 199.3 million litres of soft drinks by the end of September, 4.8 million litres (2.4%) less than in the previous year. Mineral water sales amounted to 52.4 million litres. Thanks to the hot summer, sales of mineral water rose by 5.9 million litres, or 12.6 per cent. DOMESTIC SALES, 1 JAN 2010–30 SEP 2010
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. For additional information, contact: 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 represents Finland’s third largest industry in the food and drink branch in terms of the value of production. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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