Presenting the first sustainability report of Karlovačka pivovara based on business activities and results for 2009, Monique Peters, the outgoing CEO of Karlovačka pivovara, emphasized that the business operates within the standards of the Heineken group, which is ranked as the highest-rated alcoholic beverage producer according to the SAM Dow Jones index as a global measure of corporate sustainability.
Peters pointed out the significance of data indicating the stability of Karlovačka pivovara’s operations even in an economically extremely difficult year, in which, alongside a GDP decline of six percent, Croatia recorded an increase in unemployment, a real decline in purchasing power, and a retail decline of 10.3 percent, resulting in a six percent decline in the beer market in Croatia in 2009.
After beer consumption in Croatia reached an average of 86 liters per capita in 2007, a decline to 84 liters was recorded in 2008, and in 2009, consumption was at 80 liters per capita, lower than in 2004. There was also a minor redistribution of market shares in the overall beer market in Croatia, which can primarily be attributed to the collapse of Jadranska pivovara’s operations. Thus, looking at the relationship between 2008 and 2009, according to data from the Professional Group of Beer, Malt, and Hops Producers, Zagrebačka pivovara, as the market leader, increased its share from 39.9 to 41.3 percent; Karlovačka pivovara, as the second-placed, increased its share from 22.8 to 24.5 percent; Carlsberg Croatia decreased its share from 15.6 to 15.5 percent; Jadranska pivovara fell from 7.3 to 2.1 percent; Osječka pivovara increased its share from 4.2 to 4.4 percent; Daruvarska pivovara fell from 1.5 to 1.3 percent; the share of Buzetska pivovara increased from 4.3 to 5.9 percent, while the share of imported beers increased from 4.3 to five percent.
This negative trend is further exacerbated by the already chronic complaint from brewers about excessively high excise duties on beer, which is particularly evident when comparing purchasing power and the level of excise duties with countries in the closer European environment. Compared to Croatia’s 27 euros in excise duty per hectoliter of beer, in Germany the excise duty is 8.20 euros per hectoliter, in Italy it is 19.10 euros, in Austria 24.60 euros, and only Slovenia surpasses Croatia with 31 euros per hectoliter.
