European drinks cans show resilience in difficult market conditions

The latest figures from the beverage can industry show a rise in the number of cans filled in Europe despite a fall in beer consumption and flat consumption for soft drinks. According to new figures, released by Beverage Can Makers Europe (BCME), more than 59 billion cans for soft drinks and beer were produced in Europe in 2012. This is a 3.7% increase on last year and the equivalent of two billion extra cans.
The increase was driven by strong performances in Eastern Europe where can fillings grew 5.7%, with Hungary, for example, increasing sell nearly 28% driven by strong domestic growth in soft drinks. In Western Europe growth was 3.2%, well above GDP growth in the region. Deliveries of cans for beer increased by 4% despite an almost 1% drop in beer consumption across Europe. Cans for soft drinks grew 3.4% led by the Nordic countries (News Release BCME, May 2013).