20/02/2008

Trouble Brewing Over Price Of Pint

The price of the average pint in Ireland could rise by up to 15% by the start of next month.

One of Ireland's main drinks' companies, Diageo, has announced the price for kegs of its beers will increase by as much as €4.40 each.

Diageo Ireland supplies Ireland's most popular pints, such as Budweiser, Guinness, Carlsberg and Harp, and in a letter sent to publicans; the company said the increase was "necessitated by higher production costs, increased overheads and ongoing market investment".

The average 50 litre keg of Guinness draft will increase from €132.92 to €137.32 with Budwieser, Carlsberg and Harp experiencing similar increases.

An industry source said this increase works out as a 5% per pint increase but to maintain a margin, the publicans will be asking customers to pay an extra 15%.

The source also said: “Diageo Ireland usually sets the trend that other brewers follow so there could well be increases in other well-known beer brands.”

The news is a damaging blow to the already faltering bar industry in Ireland, which was revealed to have suffered a closure of almost 1,000 bars in the last five years due to previous price rises and the impact of the smoking ban.

The price hikes have also been linked to the rising price of barley and hops due to a change in the use of farmland from growing hops to producing environment-friendly biofuels.

See: Irish Desert Pubs To Drink At Home

(DW)


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