Turkish brewer Anadolu Efes shutdown Thracian plant

ISTANBUL – Reuters

Turkish brewer Anadolu Efes, which has faced setbacks in its main markets in Turkey and Russia due to legal regulations, have announced it has decided to shut down its Lüleburgaz factory in the Turkish province of Kırklareli, four months after closing two breweries in Russia.

The company has made decision to shut down production operations at Lüleburgaz factory in Thracian region as  of May 2 as part of a program launched for the optimization of production networks in the contracted market, Anadolu Efes said in a statement released on Public Disclosure Market (KAP) yesterday.

The company will move production at Lüleburgaz, which is lowest-capacity facility with an 8 percent share, to other factories, according to the statement, which also said workers at the plant will be relocated to other centers as well.

The company will continue its brewery production at its plants in Istanbul, İzmir, Ankara and Adana, its malt production in the Central Anatolian province of Konya and its hop production in the northwestern province of Bilecik.

Alcohol sales in the county have faced a huge drop after Turkey banned alcohol advertising and tightened restrictions on its sale.  Price hikes in the market stemmed by the rise in Special Consumption Tax (ÖTV) caused further retreat in the company’s revenues.

In November, the brewer had stopped producing beer and yeast in its Moscow facilities and will move the production business to other parts of Russia.

Anadolu Efes said the decision was made after the Russian beer market shrank by 20 percent over the last five years and the capacity usage for brewers fell by around 60 percent.