Domestic beer consumption has risen by an average of 20 percent per year since 2003, reaching 2.7 billion litres last year, said the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The 2004 development plan for the brewery industry projected beer consumption at 10 million litres per year in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu, but by 2010, the provincial consumption had jumped to 40 million litres, while Soc Trang province consumed 50 million litres and Can Tho City 70 million litres, noted the head of the ministry's Light Industry Department Phan Chi Dung.

To meet rising demand, Vietnam Beer Joint Venture, which produces and bottles such popular beer brands as Heineken, Foster and Tiger, has proposed to increase its production capacity by 100 million litres to 400 million per year, the ministry has said, noting that major domestic brewers Habeco and Sabeco have also stepped up production.
Beer imports weres also on the rise, with imports of popular brands like Heineken, Lucky, Corona , Budweiser and Bavaria reaching 40 million litres last year.

The increased number of products on the domestic market would give consumers more choice but also create intense competition between domestic and foreign brewers, Dung said.

The war for market share would be based on three factors: good products, good distribution and effective marketing, said Sabeco Trading Ltd Co Director Van Thanh Liem. /.