With a little help from the lawmakers
The quarterly report on beverage trends by Citi analysts argues the upturn in beer drinking seems to have benefited the Foster’s Group most, writes John Harvey from Adelaide. The troubled Foster’s Group, which is currently mulling the fate of its wine division, has managed to claw back 1.8 percent of its market share from under 49 percent to more than 50 percent since May 2008.
Citi’s work was slightly hampered by limited availability of Lion Nathan’s and Coca-Cola Amatil’s data, due to the former being in the middle of trying to take over the latter.
Although Australia’s lawmakers have come to the rescue of the beer category with their prohibitive tax regime for alcopops, they have not done enough for light beer sales. According to media reports there seems to be a correlation between a sharp decline in light beer sales and a surge in violence.
Evidence from the State of Victoria (Melbourne) suggests that while sales of light beer have dropped by 15 percent over the past seven years, street assaults have risen by 43 percent. The state’s peak health body (VicHealth) has asked the Federal Government to scrap excise on light (low alcohol) beers, thus reducing the price by about AUD 4.80/carton and attracting drinkers to lower strength products.
