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According to the Czech Association of Breweries and Malthouses, the long-term trend of declining sales of Czech beer continued in 2023, and Czechs reduced their beer consumption by 2.4% last year. “Continued economic uncertainty and changes in consumer behavior have had a significant impact on average beer consumption per person and have also affected the share of sales in pubs and restaurants. Last year’s slight decline did not escape even the export of beer abroad.” comments organization.
The return of the brewing industry to the pre-covid levels is thus not happening again, and the total production of Czech beer in 2023 only barely remained above the value of 20 million hectoliters, which represents a year-on-year decrease of 2.7%. 15.2 million hectoliters of this volume of beer were consumed in the Czech Republic, and the rest was sent for export abroad. “Compared to the last pre-pandemic year of 2019, Czechs drank 1.35 million hectoliters of Czech beer less. With the exception of the covid years, statistics recorded similarly low values for the last time in 2010,” reminds the Czech Association of Breweries and Malthouses.
Although the situation should have looked promising for brewers after the end of the covid restrictions, after a slight increase in the consumption of draft beer the year before last, sales in pubs and restaurants fell again in 2023 to a value that, with the exception of the covid pandemic itself, is the lowest in history. While fifteen years ago, more than half (51%) of Czech beer was drunk in pubs and restaurants, today people prefer to drink a pint at home, and pubs and restaurants already account for only 30% of consumption.
Photogallery: – In the Řeporyje brewery
According to the organization, the lower consumption of beer in gastronomy also affects the overall average consumption of beer per inhabitant, which last year reached a historic low with a value of 128 liters and surpassed even the lowest average consumption values from the time of covid restrictions.
Czechs have recently taken a liking to non-alcoholic beer and continue to buy beer most often in glass bottles (40%), but even in connection with the sale of non-alcoholic beer and mixed beer drinks, interest in cans is growing (20%).
Beer consumption is falling, its price is rising
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On the contrary, the price of beer is increasing, which is caused by high inflation in recent years and government actions. While until the end of last year drinks served in restaurants had the same reduced VAT rate as food, after the intervention of the government and its consolidation package, all drinks except water moved to the 21% VAT rate.
The previous government also included draft beer in the reduced VAT rate, but it also lost this advantage in the consolidation package and, just like non-alcoholic beverages, it now has a higher VAT rate.
In the case of beer, there was a significant increase in VAT from 10 to 21%, to which many restaurants are gradually reacting by raising prices in order to at least partly transfer the tax burden to consumers. From the Dotykačka company data according to Czech Television it follows that already in mid-January, the price of draft twelve-degree beer in Czech pubs was 10% higher year-on-year. According to these data, between December last year and mid-January 2024, on average for the whole republic, the price of beer increased by roughly 4%, and people in Prague already pay an average of 69.80 crowns for a pint of draft beer.
Photogallery: – Beyond Pilsen to Němec
It is not much cheaper in other cities either, where the average price of beer in pubs and restaurants was 69.20 kroner, and it is cheaper only in villages, where it was 49.10 kroner.
It is often cheaper only abroad
After two years of growth, there was a decline in the export of Czech beer abroad last year, and beer exports fell by 4.3% year-on-year to a total of 5.17 million hectoliters, which roughly corresponds to the values from 2018, with the most significant being exports to Slovakia, Germany and Poland .
Photogallery: – Oktoberfest and a few beers
In some of these countries, it has been happening lately that Czech beer is at a more favorable price than in the Czech Republic itself.
It is not unusual that pilsner in a can can be bought in Germany for just one euro, i.e. approximately 25 crowns, while in Czech stores the price sometimes reaches up to 40 crowns. The fact that in Germany a half-liter bottle of pilsner in a glass is sold for CZK 16.50 is no exception to the discounts.
In mid-February, when Kaufland was offering such a discount in Germany, the Czech branch also came up with a discount, and in terms of the percentage discount, it was no less generous to Czech customers. Pilsner Urquell has already been discounted by 23 percent, which is similar to a 25 percent discount for German customers without a discount event. But while the discount is similar, the generosity towards customers in the Czech Republic suddenly disappears with the price.
Photogallery: – During and with beer
A discounted can of pilsner in Kauflad cost 28.90 per piece, which is more than the normal price that Germans pay for beer from the Czech Pilsen at a time when there is no discount event in the neighboring country. Meanwhile, in our country, 28.90 CZK for 0.5 liter of pilsner is a promotional price, in Germany, one half-liter bottle of Czech beer without any discount is converted to 25.35 CZK. In other words, discounted Pilsner beer is more expensive here than non-discounted beer in Germany.
According to data of the Czech Statistical Office in March, a half-liter bottle of draft beer cost an average of CZK 13.06, in March 2022 it was CZK 11.31, and the year before it still cost CZK 10.82.
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author: Radek Kotas
Tags: Beer CZK price increase government Bohemia taste passed Germany
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