Has beer become a luxury item?
In the final quarter of 2011 Australian beer consumption is believed to have dropped 6 percent. In view of the fact that the last quarter of the year is the main drinking season – the Australian summer – the decline spells an unmitigated disaster.
There have been various opinions expressed regarding the decline in beer consumption. Our correspondent John Harvey from Adelaide reports that while the Australian economy is buoyant compared with the U.S., there were still significant decreases right across the retail scene in the second half of 2011.
Many big retailers reported their worst Christmas period for some years and some smaller operators really suffered.
"Aussies are obviously considering more carefully just what to do with their disposable incomes and, in general, alcohol appears to have slipped down the list", Mr Harvey says.
Additional factors relative to beer probably include the growing popularity of cider, which is said to be replacing beer ’in many throats’, and high costs.
Mr Harvey argues that Australian beers don’t always compare favourably cost-wise with other forms of alcohol. Of course, there is the ever-present impact of moves to crack down on binge drinking and related behavioural issues but few would venture a guess about what effect these have on total consumption, let alone on beer.
Increased attention to drink-driving campaigns and other regulatory factors have also been mentioned as factors for a general decrease. But in recent years such campaigns, always more evident in spring and summer months, are just another fact of life for the Australian alcohol industry.
So, all in all, it seems that Australians are losing their preference for beer, in spite of now having the widest range from which to choose.
Over the past 50 years, the proportion of alcohol available for consumption in form of beer has declined from 76 percent to 43 percent, whilst wine has increased from 12 percent to 37 percent and spirits from 12 percent to 19 percent.
Trend lines suggest that beer and wine would meet or cross-over at about 40 percent each in 2012 or 2013.
Perhaps the decline in beer consumption has to be attributed to a bundle of factors, not least the automatic excise rise which may have made beer just a tad too expensive for many.
The Australian Hotels Association (AHA) has often accused the Government’s CPI-linked (Consumer Price Index), twice-yearly price increases of being a "silent killer for business", arguing that these price increases make it hard for social drinkers to enjoy an affordable beer after work.
Australia may be a profitable market for brewers. But for how much longer?
