From: barnhart@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Mr. Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS:ZIMBABWE: BREWERIES BUSINESS ON THE SKIDS
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 02:05:22 GMT
Organization: Evanston, Illinois, U.S.A.

Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Reference: Trade & Finance
Title: ZIMBABWE: BREWERIES BUSINESS ON THE SKIDS


an inter press service feature

by olekanye paul

harare, nov 3 (ips) -- business is on the skids for zimbabwe's
sole clear beer manufacturer, national breweries, as cash-
strapped zimbabweans turn their backs on the bottle.

once a pastime for the average worker, beer drinking has
assumed a new status as only a few can afford visiting the bars.

''we used to sell about 400 crates of beers a week but now
the number has been reduced to 200 per week'', says charles
charewa, manager of one of the bottle stores in downtown harare,
the zimbabwe capital.

murewa choto, a waiter in one of harare's nightclubs, says
except at weekends and month-ends, ''on many weekdays the club
appears like a haunted house.

''sometimes we have as few as five people over a two-hour
period'', he adds.

''it is hard these days even to invite your friend for a beer
because it's very expensive'', says josiah hove, a construction
worker in harare.

in some suburbs of harare and in nearby rural places beer
drinkers have switched to local brews, mainly the opaque
''chibuku'', made from beans, maize and sorghum. besides being
cheap, the brew is much healthier than clear beer, according to
nutritionists.

''no matter how expensive a bottle can be, the true drinker
will go to all ends to get his beer, even if it means depriving
the family of groceries'', says civil servant  sibanda.

profits have started to plummet for the national breweries
after successive records of profit-making. early this year the
company projected profit earnings of about six million u.s.
dollars.

but due to the economic difficulties the southern african
nation is going through, the earning projections have been
adjusted to four million dollars, down by 11 percent from last
year.

''like most zimbabwean organisations, national breweries has
been directly affected by the 1991/92 drought and the present
economic downturn'', stan higgins, the breweries' public
relations officer, told ips. (more/ips)


zimbabwe: breweries (2)

''the brewing industry is highly price-sensitive, especially
at times like this when disposable incomes are greatly reduced
and highly stressed'', adds higgins.

higgins associates the decline in production to the current
drought and the effects of the world bank and international
monetary fund-induced austerity measures introduced in 1990.

the measures have pushed the inflation rate from 25 percent
in 1990 to the current 47.6 percent.

the prices of beer have more than doubled since the
introduction of the structural adjustment programme.

a pint of beer, which cost about the equivalent of 0.24 u.s.
cents in 1990 in bars, now costs between 0.50 u.s. cents to one
u.s. dollar.

the minimum wage for industrial workers in zimbabwe is 337
zimbabwe dollars (about 67 u.s. dollars).

apart from reduced drinkers, the national breweries faces
other problems, including rising operating costs and high
interest rates.

carbon dioxide, a key ingredient in beer, is in short supply
following scaled-down production as cane (source of the carbon
dioxide) production suffered from drought.

the main carbon dioxide supplier is the ethanol plant at
chiredzi, some 300 km south-east of the capital.

but despite these problems, higgins says ''in the past six
months we (national breweries) have been pleased to note that
the drop in sales has not been as large as originally projected.

''we believe that the brewing industry is proving resilient
in the present difficult times. but we are confident that we
stand ready to recover when the economic situation in the
country improves'', says higgins.

one area of ''particular success'' to national breweries is
beer exports although higgins says this represents only one
percent.

higgins gave no export figures or earnings, but said: ''there
has been a substantial improvement in beer export sales and we
intend to maintain the momentum in this area''.

zimbabwe exports its ''zambezi'' beer brand to several
countries, including britain, united states and the nordic
countries. (end/ips/op/apc/ar/92)