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Beer prices increase by P2.50
Bad news for beer drinkers: your favorite San Miguel beer products have increased by nearly P2.50 a bottle.
A check with a beer retailer on Monday said that a case of San Miguel Pale Pilsen containing 24 bottles have hit P325 each, or P40 more than the P285-per-case price, on January 24.
Industry sources confirmed there’s a new price list at San Miguel Corp.’s sales division being distributed to dealers, and the prices are much higher. Sources at San Miguel, meanwhile, said the company doesn’t release the figures in view of competition.
The price increase was imposed on dealers on January 24.
A San Miguel Light beer, which costs P315 a case, was increased by an additional P40, while that of Beer Grande was slapped with an additional P20, or a P197-per-case price.
The company’s strong beer under the Red Horse brand increased by P24 from P197 for a case of its regular 330-ml bottles, while its 1,000-ml-size bottles jumped to P205 from P183 per case. San Miguel has eight beer products.
Sources said that San Miguel increased beer prices due to the excise tax law that President Arroyo signed just last month.
When pointed out that the law was only applicable 60 days after it was signed and published in national dailies, the source said the company has already considered the price impact of the law on its current inventory.
"The inventory has already covered the law’s impact on the pricing," the source added.
Persons at San Miguel, who requested anonymity, said the company has been paying the new taxes since January 1.
The "sin-tax" law was the first of eight laws that President Arroyo wanted urgently passed to curb a fund crisis facing her government by increasing revenue collection. Mrs. Arroyo has signed before Christmas the bill on higher taxes on alcohol and tobacco into law, which is expected to generate P15 billion to P18 billion in revenues.
In mid-January, a Malacañang official said San Miguel’s record domestic beer sales last year show that Filipinos have money to spare for leisure.
Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye was quoted in a radio interview citing San Miguel data that the company sold 174 million cases of beer products in 2004, up by 12.8 percent from 2003.
San Miguel had a net profit of P7.37 billion in 2003.
The company accounts for about 3.4 percent of Philippine gross domestic product and 5.6 percent of government tax revenue. By Dennis Estopace