NAMIBIA – After months of COVID-19 disruptions in the alcohol industry in Namibia, beer production shot up in the month of December 2020 to reach 146.3 hectolitres (hl) (146,300 L) from 8.6 hl (8,600 L) in April, according to the Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) as indicated in its recent Beverage Sectoral report.

According to the report, the country’s two leading alcohol beverage companies Namibia Breweries and ABInBev Namibia, produced the lowest brewing figures in the last six years for the months of April and May.

In April 2020, the two breweries’ combined production was 8.6 hl (8,600 L) of beer but doubled in May, where they produced 16.9 hl (16,900 L).

Production climbed to 63.3 hl (63, 300 L) in June 2020, and continued being under 100 hl until October, reports The Namibian.

Production started picking up in October as it went to its usual volume of above 100 hl (10,000 L), and continued the upward trend in November with 126.7 hl (126, 700 L) before it reached its highest for the year in December with 146.3 hl (146, 300 L).

Namibia has a beer per capita consumption of 108 litres

World Population Review

According to the reports, beer production in the country has been below 100 hl (10, 000 L) only 12 times (months) in the last 5 years, excluding the Covid-19 year (2020).

On the flip side of the situation, 2019 can be termed as the beer year as the country’s brewing was over 100 hl (10, 000 L) each month and reached its highest production in the last six years attaining 152.3 hl (152, 300 L) in December 2019, shows NSA.

Beer and non-alcoholic production are categorised under the manufacturing segment in the gross domestic products and the 2020 decline in production shows manufacturing falling by almost 30% in the first quarter and by 24.6% in the third quarter, indicates the report.

The two leading breweries work competitively to quench the thirst of Namibians with 108 litres per capita beer consumption, according to World Population Review, the second-highest consumption level in the world.

Meanwhile in Namibia’s neighbouring country Angola, the Association of Beverage Industries of Angola (AIBA) expects to raise US$750m from exports of beverages from the country to the rest of the world in the next five years.

To achieve this, AIBA is working on the elaboration of a sustainable export project, mostly targeting the southern region of Africa.

In almost seven years since the creation of the Association, the beverage companies have invested more than US$ 1 billion in the construction, expansion and equipping of manufacturing units, reports Angola Press.

According to the president of AIBA, Manuel Sumbula the production capacity of the country’s beverage sector is around 1,200 million litres per year, which represents an annual turnover of more than 450 thousand million kwanzas (US$692.5m).

Liked this article? Subscribe to Food Business Africa News, our regular email newsletters with the latest news insights from Africa and the World’s food and agro industry. SUBSCRIBE HERE