Ukrainian beer producers are turning to imports

Ukraine is seeing a recovery in beer imports to pre-war levels, but this process is happening faster than export production. Nevertheless, for Ukrainian beer producers, this is not an indicator of the lagging behind of domestic production compared to foreign, says Kateryna Sakharnova, Marketing Director at AB InBev Efes Ukraine, in a commentary for Delo.ua.

Most of the imported beer is currently imported into the country by global international breweries. Previously, these same types of beer were produced in Ukraine, but due to the full-scale war, they are forced to look for alternative ways.

"For security reasons, we cannot resume the operation of the brewery in Kharkiv, so we import some brands that were previously produced there, such as BUD, Stella Artois non-alcoholic. This shows that the positive dynamics in the import segment is a good signal that indicates a newly born interest in various beer variations," explains Kateryna Sakharnova.

Despite these developments, imported beer in Ukraine has always been a modest segment. Ukrainians prefer their own local brands, while imports are mainly concentrated on various niche products for connoisseurs of different beer cultures around the world.

For example, AB InBev Efes Ukraine imports high-quality exotic beers, such as Belgian craft beers Kwak and Tripel Karmeliet, as well as well-known brands with their own audience, such as Leffe and Hoegaarden from Belgium or German Spaten.