Czech breweries expect year-round declines in sales in the order of tens of percent. The largest manufacturers expect a decline between 20 and 40 percent, the smallest by more than 50 percent. This is stated by the Czech Association of Breweries and Malthouses. A survey of beer producers in late October found that a third – mainly large producers – were considering layoffs. 90 respondents representing malt houses and breweries of all sizes answered in the survey, representatives of the association told ČTK.
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“Sales of draft beer fell by 20 percent in the first nine months of the year, and we expect the decline to deepen to at least 30 percent by the end of the year. Detailed numbers will be published at the end of the year. In general, we can say that we also have a decline in exports, off-trade is growing slightly, but it can in no way replace the declines in on-trade and exports, “Martina Ferencová, the union’s executive director, told ČTK. Off-trade means the sale in closed packages, such as bottles or cans, on-trade is the sale of draft beer in restaurants.
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The Svijany Brewery, which is the largest in the Liberec Region and one of the largest in the country, is not yet considering layoffs. “We are a very efficient company in terms of the number of employees per unit of production, because for the last 20 years we have mostly struggled with a shortage of workers in the region, from which we leave for often more attractive job opportunities in Liberec or Mladá Boleslav. Therefore, we can value a quality and qualified workforce and consider it one of our main assets. Even this crisis will surely fade sooner or later. If the situation does not deteriorate dramatically, we will try to keep them all, “Roman Havlík, the director of the brewery, told ČTK. At the end of last year, the company employed 180 people.
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Primátor Náchod Brewery expects a year-round drop in sales of about 30 percent. It will also depend on how the end of the year develops, Petr Kaluža, the brewery’s director, told ČTK. Primátor Brewery is the largest brewery in the Hradec Králové region and is known as a producer of specialty beers. He does not plan to lay off employees.
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“We are not going to be fired at the moment due to coronavirus and related measures,” said Budweiser Budvar spokeswoman Markéta Ježková.
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Bernard Brewery does not want to be fired either. “The Bernard family brewery intends to maintain its current employment, it does not want to reduce a well-coordinated team of quality people,” said brewery spokesman Radek Tulis. The brewery employs 211 people. According to the spokesman, the brewery entered the state of emergency in good condition, with a relatively large financial reserve.
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“The closure of restaurants and pubs has a big impact on the brewery’s economy, larger than the industry average, because it sells most beer in kegs. The sale of bottled beer will not replace the decline in draft beer, “said Tulis. According to him, the company has not yet had to significantly slow down or stop important investments, but it is cautious in spending.
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According to the union, breweries do not want to borrow more, only about one in ten companies is considering using the COVID III loan program. “Most often – in more than two thirds of cases – breweries want to use the Antivirus program to cover part of labor costs. Deferred payment of VAT and advances on income tax and road tax until the end of 2020 is planned to be used by 42.5 percent of respondents. Nursing for employees will be used by more than a third of companies, especially from the ranks of larger breweries, “the association added.
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Already at the beginning of November, the union announced that it was negotiating with the Ministry of Agriculture about possible compensations. Breweries lose hundreds of millions of crowns every month due to closed gastronomic operations. Even with the optimistic scenario, pubs and restaurants will not open until the end of November, so they will be closed for at least a third of the year this year, the union said earlier. He also wants to start discussing changes with the Ministry of Finance so that breweries may not have to pay excise duty on liquidated beer next year.
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