Around the World – April 2006

A round-up of news from the Americas, Africa, Asia, the Middle East & Europe

AMERICAS

  USA
An agreement was reached between representatives from the US and Europe last month that culminated in the signing of a wine accord between the two areas.
  Relating to aspects of winemaking practices, as well as labelling, the accord prevents US producers from using 17 generic terms on their labels. This includes words such as “Chianti” and “Sherry”. The EU will also recognise American State names and American Viticultural Areas on wine labels.
  A part of the agreement that has left some European wine-producing countries dissatisfied with the accord is that US producers will be able to export wine made using techniques that are otherwise illegal in Europe, such as the use of woodchips.
  Another aspect of the accord that some producers are not happy with is that US wines that already use generic EU names will be protected.

  
  Mexico
FEMSA was recently fined by Mexico’s antitrust agency for failing to provide information related to  the beer industry.
  Despite having appealed an earlier ruling, FEMSA was still ordered by the Mexican Federal Competition Commission to pay 2.78 million pesos ($260,000). The information requested related to an investigation the  commission had conducted in 2004 regarding possible anti-competitive beer distribution practices.
  FEMSA, the biggest beverage company in Latin America, consists of FEMSA Cerveza, producing and distributing a number of brands, as well as Coca-Cola FEMSA, the second-biggest Coca-Cola bottler in the world. The company apparently has plans for 2006 to expand beer production, as well as open up to 600 convenience stores in Mexico, an investment of $650m.

AFRICA

  South Africa
The EU has reached a compromise with South Africa over the labelling of its fortified wines. Around the same time that an accord was reached between the EU and the US, delegates in South Africa accepted that terms such as “ruby”, “tawny” and “vintage” would be accepted in the EU. They had earlier objected to the use of these terms, claiming their use would be misleading to European consumers.
  South African producers, whose primary export market is the EU, are still prevented from using terms like “Port” or “Sherry”, and their use of the now-accepted terms must be accompanied by “Cape” to make their origin clear.

MIDDLE EAST
  
  Palestine
Following Hamas’s victory in parliamentary elections, Palestinian brewer Nadim Khoury will be producing a non-alcoholic variant of his Taybeh beer.
  Realising the changes that a new Islamist government may bring about, Khoury saw this as an opportunity to produce this new micro-brewed beer. Khoury is targeting the local market with non-alcoholic Taybeh, as he does with the rest of the range. It will feature a green label, the colour of Hamas’s flag.

Khoury boasts that not only is Taybeh the only Palestinian beer, it is also “the finest beer in the Middle East”.
  The beer is named after the town where the brewery is located, and means “delicious” in Arabic.
Using only high-quality materials, the beer is made according to the German purity law of 1516.
Khoury believes that “political independence depends on economic independence”.

EUROPE
  
  UK
According to recent research from the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC) the UK is still the leading export market for Champagne, and has been for 10 years.
The CIVC reported a 4% rise from 2004, saying that a figure of 36,765,884 bottles were imported in 2005, which translates into over one bottle per second.
Apparently aided by the UK’s historical affinity with Champagne, combined with a “hospitality boom”, there was significant growth in the rosé and vintage categories, as well as in sales of larger-sized bottles.
Record-breaking City bonuses last year apparently also helped, resulting in shortages of prestige cuvées and larger-sized bottles during January and February.

  
  Slovakia
The way is clear for SABMiller to purchase Slovak company Topvar, the third-largest brewer in the country. The country’s anti-monopoly office cleared the sale, despite concerns from smaller brewers that the majority of the beer market would be controlled by Heineken or SABMiller.
  Heineken owns the largest brewer in the country, and SABMiller owns the second-largest. The deal will result in SABMiller controlling nearly 40% of the market.

ASIA

  Japan
The Japanese Kirin Brewery Company has acquired the grandad of RTDs – Two Dogs – from Pernod Ricard Australia. Popular with young adults, the drink is marketed as the world’s first fermented lemon, low-alcohol beverage. Kirin has been importing this brand since 1998.
Kirin says that Japan is the number one RTD market and has thus prioritised this category for 2006. This strategy is also a result of a declining beer market.
  Kirin’s plans include a relaunch of the brand in Japan, as well as the possibility of new flavours being added to the range. The purchase gives Kirin rights over the Two Dogs trademark and its manufacturing methods as well as  intellectual properties.
  The company reports growth in what it refers to as “new genre” drinks, amid decline in the overall domestic market.

db  April 2006