The Independent Craft Brewers of Ireland (IBCI) has today (2 September) called on the Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe, to retain excise relief, in advance of his Budget 2020 plans.
In a statement the group which represents 34 small independent craft breweries said that it has just submitted it's pre-budget submission to the Department of Finance.
Within, ICBI said that the centrepiece of its pre-budget submission highlights and encourages the Minister to maintain the current 50% excise relief on Alcohol Products Tax, which is applicable to microbreweries.
“Every member of our association is currently developing its own small-scale artisan brewery for growth and development," Peter Mosley, Chairman of the ICBI, said.
"Many of our members are small breweries located in very rural locations and enjoy great support from their local and very loyal community by creating direct employment and tourism in the region."
Difficult Market Place
The independent craft brewers operate in a very difficult market place, dominated by multinational and global brands which enjoy a very strong market share (97%), with the artisan brewers operating from the remaining margin.
"Sadly, many of our members are battling to survive," Mosley added.
"All of our artisan producers are dependent on the support from this excise relief.”
© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. Click sign-up to subscribe to Checkout.
