Brewers call for reduced excise to guard against imports

Two associations comprising the bulk of the country's brewers have appealed to the Finance Ministry to lower the excise on beer. They fear that beer manufacturers from Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia will flood the Polish market with their products following its accession to the European Union. A lowered excise should make domestic breweries more competitive. "It is estimated that the budget will lose over zl. 900 million if the excise remains this high. Reduced sales equal lower incomes for the budget. B reweries will have to cut their costs, and this may result in redundancies and around 11,000 workers may lose their jobs," said Danuta Gut, the head of the Polish Brewers' Association (SPPPBP). Brewery managers claim that the excise should be lowered before Poland enters EU structures. "We need to prepare ourselves for the opening of borders," said Krzysztof Rut from the Zywiec group, claiming it would be too late if the excise were lowered after accession. He recalled the example of Denmark, which, due to the state's fiscal policy, has been struggling against beer imports from Germany and France. The Finance Ministry forecasts that in 2003 excise on beer will bring in over zl. 2 billion. (Puls Biznesu, p. 8) K.Z.