Beer sellers in Ho Chi Minh City have a pessimistic outlook on consumption in the coming Lunar New Year, or Tet in Vietnamese, as consumers seem discouraged by high product prices and even government drives to reduce alcohol abuse.

While Tet is only a little over a month away, D.B., one of the largest beer distributors in Ho Chi Minh City, is still unhappy with sales.

His facility is capable of distributing 10,000 cartons a day to the city and neighboring localities.

“A few years ago, stockpiling beer was like keeping gold as prices were instable and you could easily rake in profits,” he said.

“But it is now more like keeping bombs at your house.”

B. said he currently enjoys a modest profit of VND1,000 per carton of 333 beer.

“There are way too many beer brands in the market, while the number of drinkers is limited, so it is normal that consumption is poor,” he said.

While beer dealerships and distributors used to stockpile goods to embrace the price increases set by beer makers as the holidays near, the strategy could not be applied this year, according to B.

“It’s because the breweries keep changing their promotional programs,” he explained.

One beer maker is running a promotional campaign which awards sellers with a free carton whenever they sell 70 cartons.

“If I stockpile a lot of products now, my money will go away when the brewery abruptly changes the policy,” he said.

Bao Van, who runs a beverage dealership in Tan Binh District, said consumption is slow for all kinds of beer available at her store.

The seller, however, knows clearly what is behind her poor sales.

Some beer makers have recently increased prices, while people do not only drink beer during holidays but all year round, Van said.

“This is not to mention a number of recently released policies to reduce traffic accidents caused by alcohol abuse, which have discouraged beer drinkers,” she added.

Sabeco, the producer of 333 beer, and Vietnam Brewery Limited, which makes Tiger beer, have hiked prices amid poor consumption, which Van said has only exacerbated the situation.

The picture is no brighter for imported beer brands, according to industry insiders.

While Mai Thao used to import more than ten cartons of beer for the last few years, there is now not a single bottle of imported drink at her dealership in Tan Binh District.

“I dare not take the risk,” she simply said.

Hiep, who runs a beer dealership in Tan Phu District, said he needs to watch the market development for a little longer.

“It’s too soon to decide whether to sell imported beer now,” he said.

Hiep said imported beer is usually two to three times more expensive than domestic products.

“The loss is huge if you fail to empty your stock ten days after Tet,” he said.

The first day of the Lunar New Year falls on February 19, but festive preparations and the celebratory atmosphere will go on one week before and after that date, as per tradition.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!