Pakistan’s Murree Brewery starts exporting beer
Pakistan-based Murree Brewery has started exporting beer to non-Muslim countries for the first time in half a century.
The 165 year old company, with manufacturing units located in Rawalpindi, Punjab and Hattar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was originally established in the Murree Hills in 1860 to serve British troops and has since grown into the country’s only brewery.
Now, the brewery, which is no longer housed in its former building ruins, is owned by the Bhandara family after it was acquired from its British owners in 1947, will be shipping its beer to the UK and Portugal with plans to also export to Japan in due course, according to Nikkei Asia.
A forward step
The business received official permission to export its beer products to non-Muslim countries last month in a move that marked a forward step for Pakistani company.
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The decision, which was disclosed during its AGM, detailed how a dedicated export department had been established to make the most of the opportunity, despite export volumes needing to be given time to grow.
Murree Brewery has since revealed that it expects its beer exports to become more established gradually over the next three to four years due to needing to establish its position in what is an over-saturated and competitive category, globally.
Non-alcoholic products exceed alcoholic
At present, Murree Brewery’s non-alcoholic exports exceed its alcoholic drinks and create approximately US$30,000 per month. This does not however apply to all others across the market and the brewery outlined that the local government has not actually issued any overall approval for alcoholic drinks exports to all businesses.
The brewer has also recently confirmed that it has received approval from the Excise Department for a 10–15% price increase on its products, according to Business Recorder.
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