Subscriber login Close [x]
remember me
You are not logged in.

Beer sales on the rise after 10 years of falling sales following back to back duty cuts

Published:  30 January, 2015

 

Evidence that duty cuts on alcohol can help turnaround sales of declining drinks categories are seen today with news that after 10 years of decline beer sales are now on the rise.

Evidence that duty cuts on alcohol can help turnaround sales of declining drinks categories are seen today with news that after 10 years of decline beer sales are now on the rise.

The 1.3% rise in UK beer sales in 2014 comes on the back of two historic cuts in beer duty by the Chancellor in the last two Budgets.

The news will be a boost to the wine and spirit industry's bid to achieve a similar cut in duty in this March's Budget.

The beer figures are released today by the British Beer & Pub Association after nine years of falling sales that had resulted, it claimed, in 6.7 million fewer pints being served per day and a 24% slide in total.

Beer, like wine and spirits, was hit hard by the alcohol duty escalator that was introduced in 2008 and resulted in a 42%  hike on beer duty before they were cut in the  2013 Budget .

The wine and spirits industry, led by the Wine & Spirit Trade Association and Scotch Whisky Association, is calling on the Chancellor to be treated in the same way as part of its Drop the Duty campaign. It points to the fact that consumers saw wine duty increase by 50% and spirits duty by 44% since the escalator was introduced in 2008.

The BBPA claimed the "disastrous" duty escalator was responsible for 7,000 pubs closing and the loss of 58,000 jobs.

It hopes to achieve a "hat-trick" of beer duty cuts in the Budget on March 18.

Brigid Simmonds, BBPA chief executive, said: British beer is back in growth - and we want to keep it that way. But with 70% of pub drink sales being beer, the picture for our much loved pubs is still fragile. That is why another duty cut from the Chancellor is vital. It will build on the success of two very popular tax cuts in the past two years, and boost jobs in an industry that employs 900,000 people, almost half of whom are 16-24 year olds. That has got to be good news."

Read more about the wine and spirits industry's Drop the Duty campaign and get your MP to call on the Chancellor to introduce a 2% cut on wine and spirits in his last Budget before the General Election.

Keywords: