Brewery sector grows, Kompania Piwowarska hot on the trails of Zywiec

According to analysts, in the first eleven months of this year, Poland's two largest brewing groups, Grupa Zywiec (GZ) and Kompania Piwowarska (KP), maintained their strong hold on the Polish market with combined market share of 60%. However, while GZ sales fell, KP is catching up with the leader thanks to its impressive 36% growth of sales. All breweries sold over 22.4 million hectoliters of beer in the Jan.-Nov. period, which is already more than during all of 1999. According to analysts' forecasts, the brewing industry will sell some 8-10% more beer this year, than in 1999. In the first 11 months of this year, Grupa Zywiec sold 7 million hectoliters of beer, good enough for market lead, but it recorded an 8% drop in sales comparing to 1999. Grupa Zywiec's top brands are Zywiec, Warka, EB and Lezajsk while KP sells Lech and Tychy. (Puls Biznesu, p.5) M.M.