OREANDA-NEWS. On 11 February 2009 was announced, that Belarus’ OAO Olivaria, a brewery based in the city of Minsk, sold 6.511 million decaliters of beer in 2008, up 48% on the year, General Director Viktor Semak told a conference celebrating the 145th anniversary of the brewery.

He appreciated the efficient advertising campaign, which helped boost sales starting March 2008.

“We have seen changes in the quality of our beer, marketing policies, etc. We believe we did everything right. The company and its products are well received in Belarus, we have launched lots of new products in the past few years,” said Jannik Munksgaard, Carlsberg A/S Production Director in Eastern Europe.

Exports rose 132% year-on-year in 2008 to 18,500 decaliters. The company plans to phase out exports in 2009 to meet the domestic requirement.

Commenting on the home market trends, Semak said the country was in for an increase in beer prices, mostly due to the rise in loan rates and more expensive components imported from foreign countries.

On the other hand, the global crisis stands behind the growth in local products. Imports fell 7% in December 2008 year-on-year.

“The beer market grew 5%-7% in 2008 – we only have preliminary figures, and this was our merit, because only Olivaria and imports of foreign brands showed growth,” Semak said.

Olivaria was founded in 1864 and transformed into a joint stock company in 1994. In December 2006, Sweden’s BBH acquired a 30% stake in Olivaria by purchasing an additional issue of shares for USD 18.5 million. Carlsberg A/S acquired a stake in Olivaria through the purchase of the BBH shareholding from Scottish&Newcastle.