December 15 (SeeNews) - Breweries in Bulgaria produced 5.3 million litres of beer more in the first nine months of 2022 than they did in the same period of 2021, the Union of Brewers in Bulgaria (UBB) said on Thursday.
There were 25 new product brands launched on the market in the January-September period of this year, the Union said in a press release.
The Bulgarian beer market volumes places it again at 12th position out of the 27 EU member states, with consumption per head of population amounting to 77 litres, or eighth-highest in the EU.
Beer sales generate added value of close to 530 million levs ($287.8 million/271 million euro) and contributed over 335 million levs to state budget revenues, the association also said.
Next year, the EU-wide beer market is expected to gradually catch up to peak pre-pandemic levels reached in 2019, the Union said citing data from the beer industry's recent annual gathering in Brussels. Beer consumption across the bloc in 2021 rose by close to 2 billion litres to over 30 billion litres. The output of the EU's 9,500-plus breweries generates a combined tax revenue of more than 40 billion euro ($ billion).
In terms of the management of packaging waste, Bulgaria is among a number of EU countries which need significant investments in making a transition towards a deposit return system (DRS) for beer, soft drinks and bottled water containers, the Union also said.
The UBB is one of seven industry bodies which have teamed up with the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce for a platform that aims to achieve the recycling 55% of plastic packaging on the market by 2025, according to an earlier statement.
The UBB comprises Bolyarka, Britos, Zagorka, Kanenitza, Carlsberg Bulgaria, Lomsko Pivo, Dorovski Invest and their suppliers of raw materials and equipment.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)
($ = 0.941507 euro)