Chile: CCU weighs up quake cost

CCU: 200,000 hl lost

Argentina to make up brewing shortfall

Chile’s largest beer-maker CCU has begun brewing in neighbouring Argentina following the devastating earthquake that killed hundreds last week.

The company said in a statement that the 8.8 magnitude quake had damaged its filtration and bottling operations at its flagship brewery in Santiago and 200,000 hectolitres of various drinks had been lost.

CCU said it would take up to three months to repair the facilities, adding that a mitigation plan was now in action to ensure that demand can be satisfied.

“This plan means a temporary reallocation of the production within the CCU system to the lesser damaged production plants in Chile and Argentina, so as to offset the temporarily lower production in the Santiago brewery in the next two to three months,” said the firm.

The firm added deliveries were being impacted by the devastation wrought by the earthquake. Normal operations have recommenced in CCU’s other beverage activities, which include tea, soft drinks, spirits and drinking water. There was no major damage to CCU’s wine business and the firm suffered no fatalities. CCU said all damage would be covered under insurance policies.

The company has licensing deals with a number of global drinks producers, including Heineken, A-B InBev, Pepsi Co and Guinness Brewing Worldwide