OREANDA-NEWS  On 07 November was announced, that at the end of October, the Carlsberg Uzbekistan brewery in Tashkent filled the first bottles with Baltika № 3 Classic beer brewed locally under license. According to the license agreement, Baltika № 9 Extra beer will also be produced in Uzbekistan and its launch is scheduled for some time before the end of the current year.

The first shipment of Baltika № 3 has already arrived at stores and retail chains in Uzbekistan. Licensed production within the country has made it possible to significantly reduce expenses relating to transportation and payment of excise taxes. These popular brands thereby become more accessible to beer lovers in Uzbekistan. The recommended retail price for the licensed Baltika № 3 in a 0.5-litre glass bottle amounts to 1,500 Uzbek som or around USD 1.12.

The license agreement for production of Baltika brands in Uzbekistan was signed in May 2008 between Baltika Breweries and the JV Sarbast Plus (now the JV UzCarlsberg Ltd). During the time between the signing of the agreement and the launch of production of goods, the production re-equipment was carried out at the enterprise, employees were recruited and trained, and a system for joint distribution on the territory of Uzbekistan was developed. Baltika plans to bring to market more than 1.5 million dal of beer produced under license per year, enabling it to satisfy existing demand on the market. At the end of 2007, the share of № 3 and № 9 sales in the overall volume of Baltika sales in Uzbekistan amounted to 52%.

Within Baltika Вreweries a possibility of exporting beer varieties brewed in Uzbekistan to Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan once production reaches full capacity is being considered. In these republics, Baltika brands are much in demand as well. In 2007, the share of Baltika № 3 and Baltika № 9 in the Company’s overall sales in Kyrgyzstan was 33%, while in Tajikistan it amounted 37%.

The license agreement anticipates an increase in the number of varieties in the Baltika line-up that are locally produced by adding such sub-brands as Baltika № 7 Export beer, Baltika № 5 Gold and Baltika Cooler, whose aggregate share in the volume of the Company’s sales in Uzbekistan in 2007 amounted to 41%.

Baltika Breweries has been shipping product to Uzbekistan since the year 2000 and is the leading importer of beer in the Republic. Today the Company delivers to the country the entire line-up of the Baltika brand, as well as Nevskoye, Arsenalnoye and the licensed brand Сarlsberg. In 2008, based on the results of balloting by the people, Baltika beer was named the Best Beer in Uzbekistan for the third time in a row.

Baltika began to move into foreign markets in the year 2000. In the course of eight years, the Company has set up export deliveries to 50 countries around the world, including North, Central and South America, Africa, Scandinavia, the Asia-Pacific Region, the Near East, the countries of Europe and the CIS. A brewery has been acquired in Baku as a result of a transaction which was completed in October 2008, and this became the first Baltika brewery beyond the frontiers of the Russian Federation as well as the Company’s twelfth brewery.