TIRANA, June 8, 2022 – Albania’s top domestic brewers are raising alarms over a trifecta that could lead them to close up shop — a flood of cheaper imported beer, lack of workers and lower consumption as prices increase.
Domestic beer prices have risen 7 to 10 percent, according to recent data, because production costs are 30 to 50 percent higher than last year. Moreover, the companies are paying 50 percent more for electricity than in 2021. The price of everything is up — glass, packaging and the barley used in the brewing process, the companies say.
Brewers say in January-April consumption has shrunk compared to previous years, due to rising prices.
To make things worse, there is a flood of very cheap beer, primarily from Italy, which is now selling at a lower price than domestic beer, the executives said, according to a report in Monitor magazine.
While the tourist season usually has doubled demand, local companies face an uphill battle as imports flood the market.
Brewers are also struggling with labor shortages as their workers leave for higher wages abroad and new workers do not want to work for the available wages, even though they have been recently increased.
Moreover, the brewers’s association says it is unhappy with increased costs and taxes from government action.
