The Beer Association of South Africa shares priorities for 2025

Charlene Louw, CEO of the Beer Association of South Africa (BASA). Image supplied

At the same time, we expect 2025 to be rich in opportunity for the beer industry, as we continue to highlight beer’s central role in South Africa’s social life and its numerous attractive career options for black people, women and our youth.

Excise duties

National Treasury has published a discussion paper proposing different alternatives to reform its current principle of levying excise duty on beer based on the retail price of alcohol (which has gradually become distorted over the years).

No matter which proposal is adopted, it will have far-reaching consequences for the beer industry.

BASA’s priority in 2025 will be to defer implementation of the new excise duty regime until our economists and tax experts have had time to complete technical studies on the implications of the different scenarios and there has been far broader consultation.

Already the deadline for responses has been extended from mid-December (which we argued gave us too little time to study the proposals) to mid-February.

We are keen to amplify the discussion beyond our association and the manufacturers to include responses from consumers, who are most directly affected by excise taxes.

We have already begun to have digital conversations to help the public understand how excise duties impact the cost of their beer purchases.

Our goal is not to abolish excise taxes – that would be unrealistic. Instead, we want to try to achieve an outcome for the industry that is not only as fair as possible but also provides sufficient certainty to enable businesses to plan their investments over the long term.

Given the 14 February 2025 deadline for comments, and the time that Treasury will need to spend collating responses from a very wide range of interested stakeholders – from industry to health experts and consumers – it is unrealistic to expect a new excise tax regime to be introduced in the 2025 Budget.

We expect that it will be implemented in 2026 or even 2027, allowing plenty of time to interrogate and legislate a new excise tax regime.

Drinking responsibly

In 2025, BASA will maintain its message that alcohol has to be drunk responsibly and in moderation. This is a particularly important message around the festive and holiday season, and we believe that by emphasising it we can help to save lives on South Africa’s roads.

Enterprise and skills development

This past year, we have become even more conscious of the huge demand for enterprise and skills development in this industry. In 2025, we will renew our efforts to build capacity among small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMMEs), particularly emphasising the opportunities in the brewing sector for Black people, women and recent school leavers.

We have various strategic partners who support our efforts, in both enterprise and skills development.

The attractive careers available in the brewing industry stretch well beyond working in a large brewery. It is possible to become self-employed microbrewers or beer pub owners. Both small and large breweries need skills and there are openings all the way through the distribution chain.

Enterprise development can help informal liquor traders and taverners who sell a lot of beer and may have started in the industry without any of the necessary skills in areas such as financial management, payroll, stock and HR management. We can help those small businesses to acquire the skills to grow.

Building on South Africa’s beer culture

According to National Treasury’s discussion document on excise duty (“The Taxation of Alcoholic Beverages”), in 2020 beer accounted for 74.5% of total consumption of alcoholic drinks by volume in South Africa. Based on alcohol content, beer accounted for 55.5% of the market.

Clearly, South Africa is a beer drinking nation and, like rugby, it is a pastime that unites people from many different backgrounds. Beer occupies the same role in our social life as wine does in France and vodka does in Russia. BASA’s goal is to remove the perception of beer as a drink to be enjoyed only with a burger or a braai.

We want to show that it has a role to play in fine dining, too.

In 2025 we will focus on creating different experiences for beer, highlighting that there are both casual and more sophisticated ways to enjoy it. We will continue to show that there is a beer for every taste, whether sweet or bitter, and that there is continuous innovation in styles and tastes. For example, there is now a gluten-free beer. In an increasingly health-conscious world, beer stands out.

It has only four basic ingredients – barley, hops, water and yeast – and its variations in colour and taste are not derived from additives but from the way it is brewed.

Sustainability

South Africa’s breweries are pursuing sustainable practices in many different ways. They treat and re-use water sustainably; more and more breweries are following SAB’s example in incentivising the return of bottles; and many have introduced renewable energy, partly to ensure stable temperatures.

There are even broader examples. SAB uses some of the wheat/barley to make bread to feed communities. Corona has built a lime farm which creates jobs. Various brewers pursue initiatives to empower small businesses and take in learners.

BASA commends South Africa’s brewers for their innovation and sustainability initiatives and we look forward to seeing more of these projects in the coming year.