Vietnam becomes ideal market for beer producers

The high demand places Vietnam 25th worldwide and the third in Asia in beer consumption, which is expected to climb to 4.2 to 4.5 billion litres in 2015.

Vietnam is home to more than 400 beer companies, with around 30 international brands. The country has become a very attractive market to foreign investors.

In the end of 2013, Slovakia’s BTG Holdings started building a beer plant in Hoa Binh Province using Czech technology. The project is scheduled to be in operation late this year.

Sapporo Vietnam in Long An Province has plans to raise their annual capacity to 100 million litres of beer from the current 40 million litres for export to more than 10 countries.

The Vietnamese market has seen the presence of several imported brands such as Corona (Mexico), Bochka (Russia), DAD (Germany) and Duvel (Belgium)…

In 2013, the Vietnamese person drank 32 litres of beer, leading Southeast Asia, meanwhile, per capita income of Vietnam is only 8th among ASEAN countries.

Vu Thi Minh Hanh, Deputy Director of Health Strategy and Policy Institute, said that average global average beer consumption has remained almost unchanged over the past decade at 6.13 litres per person per year. Vietnam, however, has seen a sharp rise.

Per capita beer consumption in Vietnam is forecast to reach 7 litres by 2025, she added.

Risks

Up to 90% of Vietnamese men drink alcohol and the rate of local young people who use alcohol is also increasing rapidly.

Mrs. Hanh cited a survey which said that up to 60% of traffic accidents and 68% of domestic violence cases as well as 38% incidents of social disorder can be attributed to the abuse of alcohol.

Every year, around 2.5 million fatalities are related to the use of alcohol, accounting for 2.8% of the total number of deaths worldwide.

Nguyen Trong Thai, Office Manager of the National Committee for Traffic Safety, said that out of every 500 traffic fatalities, 34% show high blood alcohol levels.