Beer producer pins hopes on African growth

Beverage producer Top of Form SABMiller sees more affordable beer and middle class aspirations as the biggest growth opportunities in Africa, said Mark Bowman, managing director SABMiller Africa. “Africans drink nine litres of beer per head per year, compared with a global average of 4.5. So as Africa develops and levels of disposable income increase we expect the rate of beer consumption to grow significantly. Additionally we anticipate strong GDP growth in Africa which supports our optimism,” he said. By developing new affordable brands and maintaining moderate pricing regimes on its beer brands, SABMiller expects to win share from the informal alcohol market and achieve significant long-term volume growth in Africa, he added.