Beer is an important part of the Dominican lifestyle, and so the entry of Brazilian AmBev into the local beer market is creating, intentionally, quite a stir. According to AmBev’s principal executives, the introduction of new brands into the local market will increase consumption per capita and increase tax revenues for the government. In the Dominican Republic, consumption is calculated to be between 40 and 45 liters per person, a figure above the average for Latin America but below Mexico and Venezuela. They are basing their numbers on the Venezuelan experience where, in an equally hot, tropical climate, the average consumption is 80 liters per person per year. In Venezuela there are three major breweries.
Manuel Garcia Arevalo, Jorge Rocha and Martin Boumpadre offered insights into the beer market of Latin America during a meeting with reporters from Hoy. They told of how in Argentina, in 1993, the year AmBev entered the market there, the average consumption was just 25 liters a year. Today the average consumption is 36 liters per person. With their US$100 million investment, AmBev has become one of the largest investors in the Dominican Republic.