There has been no decline in the amount of duty-avoided beer on the black market in the UK, despite the efforts of campaigning brewers and wholesalers, according to AB InBev.

Although Customs had increased its efforts and the FWD had led a vigorous campaign for more action, the sale of duty-avoided beer was still widespread, AB InBev claimed.

Customs should be given more resources to conduct an even greater crackdown, added Simon Harrison, AB InBev sales director for independent off-trade. "We've worked hard to get our own house in order and are not going to give up," he said. "But unfortunately I can't see it getting better in the short to intermediate term."

FWD CEO James Bielby, Booker CEO Charles Wilson and InBev's UK boss Stuart MacFarlane met former Exchequer Secretary Sarah McCarthy-Fry in March to appeal to the government to take the problem seriously. But the industry needed to unite in order to campaign more effectively, added Harrison.

"The industry has to talk and move as one voice," he argued. "An amalgamation of suppliers and wholesalers is the kind of body that can speak louder and more consistently."