A combination of price rise, elections and cooler weather has taken the froth off beer sales this summer and the industry may not see the double-digit growth it posted last year. In 2010, the industry volumes grew at over 15%, but industry experts indicate that the growth rate may decline to 5-8% this year.

According to estimates, beer sales declined by at least 4% during the first quarter, the peak season for beer sales, compared to the same period last year. One estimate pegged sales for the first four months of the fiscal till July at

7.14 million hectolitres, as against 7.44 million hectolitres in the previous year.

Price increases in markets like Maharashtra and Punjab and more dry days during elections in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal impacted sales during the summer. However, sales in other big beer markets such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Goa have shown good growth.

?Last year was fantastic for the beer industry and the growth was more than 15%,? said Carlsberg India MD Soren Lauridsen. The firm, whose estimates are by calender year, said that the industry grew 3.2% between January and June 2011 as compared to growth of 24% for the same period last year. ?The beer industry is expected to grow by 5-8% by the end of this year,? he said, adding that the overall industry volume in 2011 would grow to about 19 million hectoliters.

In 2010-11, the country?s beer industry size was estimated at 17.9 million hectolitres, or approximately 229 million cases of 7.8 bulk litres each.

Shekhar Ramamurthy, deputy president of United Breweries, India?s largest brewer, agrees that growth in FY2011 was higher than the average of 10-12% seen in the past few years. However, he feels it is too early to predict the impact of slower summer sales on the industry?s performance this fiscal.

Sales of soft drinks and some white goods have also grown slower this summer compared to last year, say analysts.

However, UBL has said its marketshare increased to 53% from 49% during the quarter compared to the same period previous year.

Beer prices vary from state to state depending on local excise rules. In Maharashtra, among the biggest beer markets in India, a 50% increase in duty in April has caused a proportionate increase in the prices of beer brands, said Ramamurthy.

?In Punjab and Haryana, the retail price has shot up by 25% to30% because trade has become consolidated,? he added. In Delhi, there has been an increase of up to R5 per bottle, said an official at a beer company who requested anonymity.

India?s annual per capita beer consumption is pegged at around 1.4 litres, far below that of other countries such as China where it is over 30 litres, making it a potentially large market for the beverage.