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Small Breweries Gain Russian Market Amid Recession

Over the past five years, the share of local brands in the Russian beer market has increased from 14.9 to 26.5 percent, as recession forces more consumers to opt for cheaper goods, the Kommersant newspaper reported Thursday.

Large international breweries, including Carlsberg, Heineken, Anheuser-Busch InBev and Efes have seen their market share decrease over the past year, the newspaper reported.

Kommersant attributes the declining sales of international brands to falling beer consumption in Russia.

According to data from Denmark's Carlsberg, Russia's beer market shrank by 10 percent last year. Russia's consumption of beer in 2015 was at its lowest level in 12 years, with 50 liters consumed by an average citizen per year, according to data from the Baltika brewing company.

Local producers managed to increase their market share because they can lower their prices, according to market experts polled by Kommersant.

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