Beer sales surge as mercury rises

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese have been spending up large on beer and soft drinks during the summer, much to the delight of distributors.

Since the end of last month, sales of beverages and beer have increased sharply, as have prices in many areas.

"I could sell 25 to 35 cases of soft drinks a day," said a store owner from the central city of Da Nang. A retailer in Hai Chau district said his shop had its orders trebled compared to previous summers.

"Every summer, we ordered beer and soft drink delivers once a week. Now, we have to order every two days," he said.

Demand for beer also surged in Ha Noi; to meet demand, alcohol and beer companies have increased capacity, said Nguyen Van Hung, general secretary of the Viet Nam Alcohol Beer and Beverage Association.

The Ha Noi Alcohol, Beer and Beverage Company increased daily capacity from 160,000 litre of draught beer to 180,000. Some days, productivity was more than 200,000, Hung said.

Along with beer, demand for soft drinks and fresh beverage like sugar cane juice and coconut juice increased significantly.

"It is the season for soft drink sales, but this year the demand has strongly increased," said Le Duc Truong, an official of Sen Le Company, a soft drink distributor in Da Nang city.

"Every day, we supply about 1,200 cases to Hai Chau district. All of us had to run to meet demand," he said. Despite the efforts to hold prices, beer and soft drink prices have increased nationwide.

At a Ha Noi market, the cost of a case of 24 Ha Noi beer bottles has risen from VND125,000 (US$7) to VND240,000 ($13), while in central regions bottle prices are up about VND14,000 ($0.70).

Sugar cane juice

Nguyen Duc Phu, deputy director of the Ha Noi Alcohol, Beer and Beverage Company, said distributors increased prices, which affected the company's prestige and trademark.

Like beer, bottle prices for soft drinks have increased about VND2,000.

During some sweltering days in Ha Noi, the price of some cups of ice tea trebled to VND3,000 while cups of sugar cane juice doubled.

Ice producers can't match demand, so prices increased. That's why we have to increase the price of sugar cane juice, said Hoa, a seller in Ha Noi.

The association has demanded companies stabilise prices and has asked them to manage their systems so distributors can't raise prices by themselves.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News