Beer drinkers have to be brave.
The Bavarian Brewers' Association expects the prices for light beer, wheat beer and the like to continue to rise in the medium term, pointing to rapidly rising costs.
Munich - Breweries throughout Germany are struggling with rising prices for raw materials, energy and personnel.
The Bavarian Brewers' Association therefore assumes that the price of beer will have to continue to rise in the coming years.
"The breweries will successively increase the list beer prices," spokesman Walter König told
Merkur.de.
Energy and personnel costs make beer production more expensive
Energy costs alone have recently increased by 750 percent.
This was the result of an internal member survey.
So far, however, the additional costs have only been partially passed on to consumers.
Breweries conclude energy and raw material supply contracts over a longer period of time.
"Many breweries had contracts that lasted through the highest price peaks that we have experienced," said Walter König.
“The biggest cost that weighs on breweries is energy.
Depending on the size of the brewery, the personnel costs come right after that,” explained König.
Personnel costs are likely to continue to rise.
Collective bargaining is currently underway with the Food, Pleasure and Restaurant Union (NGG).
Among other things, she demands a 12 percent increase in wages.
That would hit smaller breweries in particular "hard," said König.
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According to estimates by the Bavarian Brewers' Association, the price of beer should continue to rise in the medium term.
© Armin Weigel/dpa
War in Ukraine causes supply bottlenecks for grain
Beer is also particularly energy-intensive to produce.
In the production process, the future beer must be heated several times, cooled down and kept at a constantly cool temperature during fermentation.
The finished beer in the bottle is also stored cool, says König.
Increased grain prices also made things difficult for the breweries last year.
Even before Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, the prices for malting barley had increased significantly.
The trigger was a crop failure across Europe.
"The supply of malting barley from the 2021 harvest was so scarce that prices were already rising in 2022." The war between the two important grain exporters Russia and Ukraine then "brought more chaos and immense price increases to the grain market," said König .
Beer brewer: Industry giants are also preparing customers for higher prices
According to the Bitburger brewing group from Rhineland-Palatinate, beer drinkers will have to expect more frequent price increases than before.
"This industry needs regular price increases in order to survive," said the Managing Director for Technology and Environment, Jan Niewodniczanski, at the beginning of March on the occasion of the group's annual balance sheet.
Walter König from the Bavarian Brewers' Association sees it the same way: "The price adjustment cycles will become shorter." If the current contracts with suppliers and suppliers were due for renewal, the rising prices in the supply chain would gradually affect the price of beer.
Some breweries had to raise prices sharply last year, said König.
However, this does not always go directly to consumers: "The trade is still reluctant to pass the prices on to the customers." use, said Brauerbund spokesman König.
Beer price should rise - beer drinkers want to save
However, high inflation and rising beer prices are leaving their mark on consumers.
According to a recent YouGov survey, almost one in five Germans is drinking less beer because of higher prices.
At least 17 percent of those surveyed stated that they consumed less beer.
Three percent of respondents said they drink more beer.
Beer consumption is unchanged for 61 percent.
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Increasingly expensive: the beer prices at the Munich Oktoberfest (as of September 2022).
© dpa infographic
However, the industry is relaxed about the results.
"As the brewing industry, we look at the developments retrospectively." If branded beers become more expensive, consumers could drink less or switch to beers in the entry-level price segment: "By analyzing the shopping basket, we can see when branded beers start to lose their cheap market share."
List of rubrics: © Armin Weigel/dpa
