China’s top beer makers lift prices in tandem for the first time in a decade
The moves come as the country’s brewers suffer from low profit margins because of rising labour costs, higher material prices after China’s new environmental policy, as well as increased competition from imported brands
China’s largest brewers have raised beer prices in tandem, marking the first such move by leading brands in a decade, which analysts say is driven by rising labour costs, higher material prices after China’s new environmental protection tax and growing market competition from imported brands.
Increasing industry consolidation in the world’s largest beer market and the upgrade in China’s consumption pattern also offer them an impetus.
China Resources Beer Holdings (CRB), the country’s largest brewer, announced on Monday it was “moderately adjusting the prices of some of its products in certain regions to mitigate the heightened costs pressure”.
“We have been trying to cope with the rising prices in raw materials, packing and labour through streamlining production, marketing, distribution, as well as developing premium products,” the company said in the statement.
The statement was in response to recent media reports that said CRB’s Snow Brewery unit and Tsingtao Brewery would significantly increase the prices of some products from the start of 2018.
Snow Beer, one of the best-sellers in China, had planned to raise the prices of nine mid-to-lower end products by 10 to 20 per cent, according to previous media reports.