Beer sales slump starts to slow

By Matt Eley Matt

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Beer sales Late-2000s recession Public house Bbpa

As the UK starts to emerge from recession, beer sales are also showing slow signs of recovery, according to new figures. The British Beer & Pub...

As the UK starts to emerge from recession, beer sales are also showing slow signs of recovery, according to new figures.

The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) has revealed details of its Quarterly Beer Barometer which shows that while sales are still declining the rate of fall has dropped.

For the last three months of 2009 sales were down 3.6 per cent - the lowest fourth quarter fall since 2006.

Last year overall sales fell 5.2 per cent - an improvement on the 9.3 per cent slump in 2008 and the 6.5 per cent fall in 2007.

Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of the BBPA, said: "These figures show a sector starting to claw its way out of a recessionary slump.

"They also signal the most significant driver of problems in the pub sector over the last 12 to 18 months has been the downturn in the economy and the slide into recession, along with duty increases of over 20 per cent."

Government income from beer tax in 2009 is down £258million, she added, compared to 2008 due to sales continuing to drop.

The figures, which are provided by BBPA members, also show that sales in pubs, bars and restaurants were down five per cent in the last three months of the year while beer sales in supermarkets in that period declined 2.1 per cent.

In the year, off-trade beer sales fell by 3.1 per cent - the largest fall since records began in 1978.

Despite some signs of recovery in the market Simmonds added a word of caution.

"It is too early to say whether these indicators of fragile recovery will turn into a trend, particularly when we wait to see the impact of shocks such as the VAT increase and the big freeze.

"What is certain is that any recovery could be thrown off course and destabilised by government intervention on tax or regulation."

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