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Even in the best case, only the figures of previous years can be produced, there is no substantial growth in the domestic craft beer market, the Association of Small Breweries said.

    In a year, the average price of spirits has risen by 19.6% nationwide. And this has obviously affected the turnover of domestic breweries, the association of small brewers confirmed to the Hungarian business news site Pénzcentrum.

    Beer is a seasonal product, especially in a country where the tourism sector is very important. The most characteristic feature of this summer, which also affects beer, is that retail and catering sales have fallen as a result of high inflation. This has affected small-scale brewers in the premium/super-premium segment less than average, but in any case the figures are still at the same level as in previous years, and there has been no significant increase, according to the Association of Small Breweries.

    They explained that the weather has a much greater impact on sales, simply put: when the sun is shining, beer sells better.

    Domestic rural tourism is weaker, which has an impact on beer. However, it is encouraging to see that since COVID, foreign tourists are slowly returning (mainly to Budapest), so some positive effects are visible there, the association said. At the same time, it was reported, the hospitality sector is also experiencing down-shopping (i.e. guests are looking for cheaper products), "which is understandable in the current economic climate."