The off-trade growth in beer sales which brewers have been enjoying for the last decade could be coming to an end, according to market analyst Keynote. In its latest report on the sector it predicts slow growth in the value of the total market from £17bn this year to £18.5bn in 2005 when it will plateau. It says: "The steady decline of sales in the on-trade is responsible for the market's stagnation, although the off-trade is also reaching saturation level." The report indicates that total beer volumes will continue to decline as consumers switch to lower volume, higher alcohol, higher price products. {{DRINKS }}

Topics