Heineken to cease beer production in Kaliningrad

It was only a matter of time. With Russian beer consumption in decline for the past eight years, Heineken said on 5 October 2016 that it will suspend production at PIT Company, its affiliate in the Russian city of Kaliningrad, from 1 January 2017. With a population of nearly one million people, Kaliningrad is a Russian enclave by the Baltic Sea lodged between Poland and Lithuania.

Heineken bought Russia’s PIT group of breweries in 2005 for reportedly USD 560 million. The Kaliningrad plant had an estimated capacity of 250,000 hl and would have been the smallest in the PIT Group.

Heineken will lay off about 70 employees in accordance with Russian legislation, it was reported.

Since 2009, when the Russian government took steps to curb alcohol consumption and beer sales began to drop, large brewers have been forced to shut down 11 breweries across Russia.