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- Foam assets: Russian brewers have entered the top of the prestigious international rating
Foam assets: Russian brewers have entered the top of the prestigious international rating
After the withdrawal of foreign business from the country, Russian brewing companies entered the top of the prestigious international rating prepared by the largest trader in the BarthHaas market. Thus, after its purchase from Carlsberg Group, Baltika took the 12th place, and United Breweries holding, which separated from Heineken, took the 24th place. At the same time, almost all brewing companies in Germany, a country that has always been associated with beer, fell in the ranking, and some even suffered losses. Why German breweries are becoming uncompetitive and what the sanctions against Russia have to do with it — in the Izvestia article.
Russian brewers on the global market
The Russian companies Baltika and United Breweries (OPH) have entered the top 40 of the international rating prepared by the largest trader BarthHaas for the first time after the withdrawal of foreign business from the Russian Federation. This is an annual study of the global beer market, which analyzes the statistics on the production of foam drinks, trends and pricing of raw materials.
The first 11 places, according to the results of 2024, remained unchanged compared to 2023. The leader is AB InBev with a production volume of 495.5 million units. One of the main changes was the appearance of Russian companies in the rating. Thus, Baltika took the 12th place (23.6 million units) and United Breweries took the 24th place (9.50 million units).
Baltika, the largest brewing company in the Russian Federation, returned to the 12th place in the rating. She now works independently from her former parent Carlsberg. Another newcomer to the top 40 was the Russian group OPH United Breweries (United Breweries. — Ed.), once part of the Heineken Group, which now ranks 24th," says the study, the full version of which will be published by the authors on July 22.
Izvestia sent inquiries to the company asking for an assessment of this event.
Baltika is a brewing company, the first brewery of which was opened in St. Petersburg in 1990. From 2008 to 2023, it was controlled by the Danish Carlsberg. Since December 2024, it has been owned by Russian legal entities. It produces products under the brands Baltika, Zatecky Gus, Zhigulevskoye, Arsenalnoye, etc.
United Breweries, an OPH holding company, has been operating in Russia since 2002. It was established and operated as a division of the Dutch Heineken company. In March 2022, the foreign manufacturer announced its withdrawal from the Russian Federation and stopped selling products under the Heineken, Guinness and Miller brands. In August 2023, Arnest Group bought the Russian business of the Dutch brewing holding for €1, committing to repay its debt to the parent company in the amount of €100 million.
The fact that Russian companies have taken leading positions in the global ranking is an indicator of the high importance of our producers in this industry, Vyacheslav Mamontov, executive director of the Association of Beer, Malt and Beverage Producers, told Izvestia.
— Over the years of sanctions, brewers have managed to adapt to external influences and at the same time increase production. In particular, the industry is among the leaders among all alcohol in launching new products," the industry representative explained.
The inclusion of our companies in this rating means that the international brewing business community has officially recognized their work, the transfer of ownership rights to the Russian Federation and is ready to cooperate, Kamal Lebedev, executive director of the Association of Beer and Alcohol Market Participants, told Izvestia.
According to him, this is a positive development, given that Russian companies are in good positions in the ranking.
— At the moment, the production volume of all our companies is growing, and the popularity of products is increasing. Given that imports have dropped significantly, brewers are now focusing on domestic consumers. Therefore, each organization comes up with and introduces new products, including Baltika, with which we work to interact with innovative companies and partner with young technology entrepreneurs," explained Kamal Lebedev.
According to him, the company is currently considering piloting or acquiring several startups in the field of business process automation, smart manufacturing and biotechnology in order to include them in the process and further enhance its prestige and competitiveness in the market.
Germany is losing ground
The results of the study, which was not so successful for the German brewing business, have already been noticed by journalists from the leading German media outlet Bild. In a note titled "Why brewers are now drowning too ... and what does Putin have to do with this?" they reported that almost all the brewing companies in the country had fallen in the rating, and some even suffered losses. While the Russian Baltika and OPH are "working independently and gaining strength."
At the same time, German politicians interviewed by Izvestia consider the deterioration of the brewing industry's position in Germany to be natural.
"The reason lies in the lack of production volume, number and variety of breweries in Germany," Steffen Kotre, deputy of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, explained to Izvestia. — As a result, the volume of production is relatively low. This means that these plants were and still are quite small.
According to him, breweries in Germany have not been able to unite in order to enter foreign markets on a large scale. In this regard, the trend has not become something new, the politician noted.
— The market share can be restored only if breweries start cooperating, merge or are capitalized. But I don't see any prerequisites for this to happen. Especially in light of the general decline of the German economy due to mismanagement, inadequate sanctions policy and the ideologization of other areas of society," Steffen Cotre said.
Evgeny Schmidt, an ex-member of the Bundestag and a member of the AFD, agrees with this opinion.
— There are systemic problems in Germany that have not been solved in any way in recent years. This includes bureaucracy, high taxes, and high energy prices. The closure of the nuclear power plant, and then the introduction of additional sanctions against the export of Russian energy resources. A huge number of industries in Germany have been put on the brink of survival," he explained to Izvestia.
The brewing industry, he said, was no exception in this regard. In the context of restrictive measures against the Russian Federation, German breweries are becoming uncompetitive on the world market, the politician noted.
The beer market in Russia is growing
According to Nikolai Arefyev, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, foreign companies that previously owned Baltika and OPH were, in fact, messing around. They skimped on technology and did not invest in quality, unlike Russian manufacturers, which led to winning high places in the world ranking.
— The previous owners didn't think much about it and were interested in the volume of output, trying to make a quick profit on it. Therefore, when our people began to manage this production, they began to pay more attention to technology, quality and product range expansion," the deputy explained.
Vadim Drobiz, head of the Center for Research on Federal and Regional Alcohol Markets, recalled that in 1995, when four global beer giants entered the Russian market, they began to actively invest in beer advertising.
— And 12 years later, in 2007, the production and consumption of the drink in the Russian Federation increased 5.5 times. There has never been such a thing in any country in the world," the expert explained.
After the departure of foreign businesses from our country, the industry froze in anticipation. However, the new management, which became the owner of the enterprises, did not lose its head: the management policy of the companies that became Russian companies has completely changed. And now the beer market is recovering, production volumes are growing, the expert concluded.
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