Kenyans drink more with alcohol laws

Kenyans are drinking more alcohol today than ever before with the trend expected to continue climbing, despite the introduction of tough control regulations in 2010.

Alcohol consumption trends gleaned from the official statistics, company research, store checks and trade interviews suggest that Kenyans have shrugged off the intended effects of the Alcohol Act 2010 with much of the drinking having shifted to the home.

Last year Kenyans downed 601 million litres of alcohol, some 30 million litres more than the previous year.

Market research also indicates they will consume 625 million litres of alcohol this year and hit the seven plus million litres mark by 2016.

Two industry surveys of the local alcohol market by the Chinese and Europeans tell investors that the sector is on a growth trajectory and is a safe bet to put their money in, especially in the manufacturing and big retailing outlets.

The future of alcohol drinking is described as resilient with wily Kenyans having already found ways to beat the new regulations and continue enjoying their tipple.

The data collected by industry research firms Euromonitor International and China Market Research Report.com show that Kenyans drank Sh182 billion worth of alcohol last year compared to Sh165 billion the previous year and Sh109 billion in 2006.

Excessive drinking

This means Kenyans drink much more than the remittances from the Diaspora which were about Sh76 billion last year.

This is good news for potential investors in the alcohol segment but extremely bad for the Minister for Public Health Mrs Beth Mugo who pushed the new alcohol Bill, arguing that excessive drinking had become a major health problem.

The Bill was expected to cut down drinking of all types of alcohol, while the legalising of traditional drinks was supposed to make their production more hygienic; but statistics indicate that both targets have not been met.

“The object and purpose of this Act is to provide for the control of the production, sale, and use of alcoholic drinks, in order to protect the health of the individual in light of the dangers of excessive consumption of alcoholic drinks,” says the Act.

However Naivasha MP John Mututho, who was the chief architect of the law, interprets the market figures differently, arguing that the increasing profits being made by brewers are a reflection that more people have abandoned illicit drinks for the more hygienically prepared conventional brands.

“I will say the Act is successfully because we are basically having people embracing legal drinks and shying away from the illicit drinks. This is a major success that has seen 90 per cent compliance,” he said.

He says, the profits being made by the brewers are a result of the good law, which has protected Kenyans from drinking poison.

But figures released last week by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) showed inflation and costing to have had more impact on drinking trends than the Mututho laws.

Over the last nine months, says Mr John Njiraini, KRA Commissioner General, the tax-free non-malt brands, such as that sold by the keg, saw a volume growth of 60 per cent.

His figures indicated that more drinkers had shifted from the more expensive beer brands to the non-taxed products, consequently hurting the agency’s performance this year.

When the Mututho law came to town, a high number of Kenyans resorted to drinking at home and buying alcohol from non bar outlets.

According to Euromonitor International, of the 601 million litres taken by Kenyans last year, 435 million litres were consumed away from bars, much of it at home.

The statistics indicate that the limiting of drinking hours and placing high fines on offenders may have made investments in small pubs and bars unattractive.

An emerging trend, says the surveys, is the emergence of high-end hotels, bars and clubs in up market urban areas, which attract the growing middle class and tourists.

While men are greatly responsible for much of the drinking, women made a significant contribution than they had been doing in previous years.

According to the Chinese survey, a growing segment of financially independent women is also helping shore up the sales of alcohol in the country.

“The growth of cider picked up in 2011 compared with the previous two years. The increasing purchasing power of women as a result of a greater number joining the workforce contributed to this increase,” says the China Market Research report.

Ms Emily Matano, a pharmacist with a leading hospital in Nairobi say that financial independence may account for the way women drink today.

“Tonight I can decide to go out with five of my female friends, and we can party as long as we wish at our own cost. It is not like the days when women waited for men to pay for their entertainment needs. We are able to do that on our own without being ridiculed,” said Ms Matano.

The increased alcohol sales are also attributed to high level marketing and advertising by the major brewers.

Last year the East African Breweries Limited unveiled a new-look Tusker lager as part of its campaign to revamp the consumer appeal for its flagship brand.

Although the new laws have put strict restriction on advertising and promotion of alcoholic drinks, this is not being strictly enforced by the National Authority Against Consumption of Alcohol and Drugs (Nacada).

Efforts to get an update from Nacada were unsuccessful, with the office of the national coordinator saying the officer in charge, a Dr Okida, was just a few days old on the job and needed more time to study the situation.

But numerous court cases filed mainly by the main players in the industry may be partially responsible for the ineffectiveness of the Alcohol Drinks Control Act 2010.

“Implementation of the act has also been slow, and faced many legal bottlenecks from the major players in the industry,” says the Euromonitor.

One of the most glaring letdown is the failure to put traditional drinks such as changaa in the legal market.

Mr Mututho, blames this failure on the Minister for Internal Security Prof George Saitoti who he says has not yet published the guidelines on the packaging of local brews and how they are to be tested.

“We’re planning to amend the Act within two months to protect Kenyans and promote a sober drinking culture,” he notes.

But just like the traditional alcoholic drink Konyagi has found its way to Kenya from Tanzania, another one may be on the way either from there or from Uganda.

“The giant SABMiller is due to roll out its Chibuku sorghum beer to Tanzania and Uganda, and from there it is expected that the product will also be sold by Kenyan retailers,” says the Euromonitor.

New efforts to introduce genetically modified sorghum may also at some point allow Kenyans to try a genetically engineered food drink.