Mexican bottle shortage leads to Corona rationing in UK

UK distributor Molson Coors has written to some venues saying it has taken the decision to “proactively manage Corona stock until further notice” after being informed by its brewer AB InBev that a sizeable proportion of Corona orders made between January and March would not be delivered on time.

“AB InBev has advised us that this shortage is due to an increase in demand in its brewery in Mexico, which has resulted in bottle shortages,” the letter stated. “An expected resolution date has not yet been finalised.”

A Molson Coors spokesman confirmed that the issue with orders could lead to a “shortage of stock” in the UK.

“To minimise the impact on our customers and consumers, we have taken the decision to proactively manage Corona stock until further notice,” he said.

Stock​

“We will continue to work closely with AB InBev to ensure we are aware of the latest updates so that we can review and adapt our stock management as soon as possible.”

Gareth Williams, manager of the Barrels in Hereford, told the PMA he was unaware of any supply issues. “I’ve not heard from Corona or Enterprise, which supply us with it,” he said. “We have a military presence in Hereford and when good-looking men turn up so do women — and they tend to drink Corona. I keep a high stock of Corona and didn’t order any last week.”

Malcolm Nicholls, owner of the Pitch Sports Bar & Grill in Walsall, West Midlands, confirmed he had received the letter from Molson Coors but had not yet experienced any problems ordering the drink.

A spokeswoman for AB InBev said: "Corona is one of AB InBev’s three global brands and has shown strong performance in the first quarter, with over 10% volume growth globally (ex US). Corona is brewed in and exported from Mexico.

"In the UK, Molson Coors is the exclusive distributor of Corona until the end of 2014. 

"AB InBev has not been able to deliver all Corona orders from January-March in full and to schedule for the UK market due to an increase in demand versus the same period last year, with glass supply constraints. We are working closely with Molson Coors to manage stock in a proactive way and to minimize any disruption of supply to customers.  We are working hard towards a solution."