Beer Shortage In Bangkok

[DownLoLarry]

Brewers tackles beer shortage, but water is priority

KWANCHAI RUNGFAPAISARN

THE NATION

It is not only essential products such as drinking water that are disappearing from retail shelves, as major brewers have acknowledged a shortage of beer at many stores in Bangkok due to the flooding, which has completely disrupted their logistics systems.

Beverage-makers have been allocating more working resources to bottled drinking water, which is an essential product in great demand from flood-hit consumers.

However, the companies have committed to improving the beer shortage significantly within a month, when the flood water has receded and their logistics systems are back to normal.

Chatchai Wiratyosin, marketing director for Singha Corp, yesterday said one pof the main problems was that the company cannot deliver its beverages to retailers' warehouses and distribution centres, which have been seriously affected by the floods.

"Many transport routes in Bangkok and the suburbs have been cut or blocked by flood waters," he said.

The problem of zero supplies at many retail outlets throughout Bangkok is also caused by the temporary shutdown of Singha's major brewery in Pathum Thani.

"It is also quite difficult to deliver beers from our Khon Kaen factory to Bangkok. Our priority has been to bring drinking water from the plant, which is essential and needed by those affected by the flooding," Chatchai said.

The shortage of Singha's beer is expected to last for about a month, he added, until the flood water |has declined and the logistics system has returned to normal.

THAIBEV'S LOGISTICS WOES

Thai Beverage's two beer and drinking-water factories, at Bang Ban and Wang Noi in Ayutthaya, have been blocked by the flood water, with transport to and from the facilities completely cut.

Thapana Sirivadhanabhakdi, president and chief executive officer, yesterday said the beer shortage was caused by logistics problems, as the company could not deliver to retail stores.

He said the lead time for distributing beverage products from its plants in Ayutthaya to Bangkok had increased from two and a half hours on average to between six and eight hours because of the floods.

Distribution from its Kamphaeng Phet factory takes even longer, having increased from six and a half hours to 10. Thapana said ThaiBev had made the production of bottled drinking water its priority, as it is a vital need for people hit by the flooding.