World Cup boosts beer sales

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 | By Russell Parsons

Sales increased 2.9% on last year in the three months to 30 June, the equivalent of 2.2 billion pints, according to British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) data.

The increase was the first registered by the BBPA’s Quarterly Beer Barometer since the second quarter of 2006.

Supermarket sales drove the increase, up 13.7% on the same period last year, offsetting the 6.3% decline in pub sales.

Brigid Simmonds, chief executive of the BBPA, says the association hopes the uplift indicates the beer sector “is starting to turn a corner” but warned the Government needs to act to reverse the decline in pub sales.

“The Government must carefully consider how best to use its Review of Alcohol Taxation to rebalance the tax system, freeze beer tax and support Britain’s pubs, recognising the economic and social contribution of these vital community assets,” she says.