Newsroom

7/12/2009 ¦ National Association News

Ireland: Southern consumers buy two-and-a-half times more beer when shopping in the North

Irish Brewers Association calls on Government to reduce excise by 20% to protect indigenous manufacturing and export sector

04 December 2009 - The Chairman of the Irish Brewers Association (IBA), David Forde, has said that the huge surge in shoppers from the South travelling North to purchase beer is endangering the livelihood of all those who depend on the country’s indigenous brewing sector.

The growth in cross-border sales comes against the backdrop of a decade of falling beer consumption, with the beer market market itself experiencing declines of over 25% in that period.

Mr Forde was speaking as new figures from tns Worldpanel revealed that on an average cross-border shopping trip, consumers purchase two and a half times more beer than when they shop locally. Accordingly, Mr Forde called on the Government to reduce our excise rates by 20% in next Wednesday’s Budget to restore competiveness with beer on sale in Northern Ireland.

Mr Forde commented, “In the build-up to Christmas the focus has been thrust on the major increase in cross-border shopping that has grown steadily over the last 18 months, but is now reaching a crescendo. Alcohol is a clear driver of this trade, largely in part to the significant savings that can be made as a result of the lower UK excise regime, exacerbated by the Sterling/Euro price differential.

“When such prices are available it is entirely understandable that, as tns Worldpanel data reveals, Southern consumers are opting to buy significantly more beer when they travel North than they would on routine trips to their local supermarket or off-licence.

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