More power to craft brewers
Things are getting political. The Australian Real Craft Brewers Association (ARCBA) is calling on the World Trade Organization (WTO) to push for equality and fair trade for small independent craft breweries. In a press release dated 27 November 2014, the ARCBA attacked its government for not taking a stand for Australian industries in a clear unfair trading position. Arguing that Australia’s government has not brought the taxation on beer into line with OECD 33 countries and WTO member countries, which puts Australian craft brewers in a disadvantageous position in trading terms vis à vis imported beers, the ARCBA has asked the WTO and the Australian Government to move to an international definition of ’small brewery’ across all member countries and for all countries to extend the same level of government support and subsidies to these ’qualified’ breweries irrespective of their country of origin.
The ARCBA is miffed that other countries are providing substantial reduced tax rates for their small brewers, which means they enjoy quite some price benefit when selling their beers in Australia. In particular U.S. craft brewers have been able to gain an unfair advantage in the Australian market, according to the ARCBA.
“We’ve had quite a few members say they’ve lost taps at hotels or fridge space to Sierra Nevada products,” David Hollyoak, the chairman of the ARCBA was quoted as saying.
The small brewers believe this is a restraint of trade. Already the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is investigating trading practices which lock domestic craft beers out of Australian pubs.
Incidentally, there are two craft brewers’ associations in Australia: the CBIA and the ARCBA. Many “real craft brewers” will not join the CBIA as it has CUB and Lion as members. However, the CBIA is by far the bigger organisation as it controls 80 to 90 percent of the craft beer volume through the membership of the heavyweight brewers’ craft outfits such as Matilda Bay, James Squire and Little Creatures.
