Danish exports booming despite cartoon brouhaha in ME

UNITED STATES

Danish exports are booming - Last year, products worth more than DKK 33bn (US$ 5.2 Bn) headed to US - 25% up on the 2004 , according to the Trade Council of Denmark reported in daily newspaper Berlingske Tidende today, faster than sales within the EU.

Products shipped included oil, windmills (grew 170% in one year) , agricultural goods and medicine. Pharmaceuticals accounted for DKK 9bn (US$ 1.8 Bn) last year, with companies like Novo Nordisk and Lundbeck leading the sales drive. Sales of oil to the US, meanwhile, grew by 75 % last year.

'Exports of agricultural products fell by six percent in 2005,' the Trade Council of Denmark reported. "Mainly due to reductions in exports of meat and meat products, which fell by 21 percent."

Significantly Danish firms had a big increase in the number of subsidiaries established in the US. The subsidiaries' combined sales exceeded twice that of export wares, according to the Trade Council of Denmark.

CHINA

Copenhagen based Carlsberg ( Probably the best Website in the World ) is involved in 20 breweries primarily in western China – joint ventures as well as wholly owned companies.

The total yearly beer consumption in the provinces, where Carlsberg is involved in brewing activities, is about 12 million hectolitres. (Less now that Gazza no longer plays in the Chinese Footie League) Together with its Chinese partners Carlsberg holds a total market share of close to 63%.

Carlsberg is moreover the only international brewer with significant presence in the western part of China, which geographically constitutes about 1/3 of China and has more than 100 million inhabitants. (Graphic shows why you should drink Carlsberg rather than milk or OJ !)

Ningxia:

Carlsberg has to day signed a joint venture agreement with Ningxia Nongken Enterprise Group Co. Ltd ("Nongken") to establish a greenfield brewery located in the Ningxia Autonomous Region in western China. Carlsberg will own 70% of the joint venture. The new brewery will have a capacity of up to 1 million hl. Until the new brewery is in operation by the end of 2006 the beer will be supplied from Nongken's existing brewery who produce the Xixia beer brand.

Xinjiang:

In September 2004 Carlsberg acquired initially 34.5% of Wusu Brewery in Xinjiang. In early 2005, Carlsberg and our local , Blue Sword, initiated a major restructuring of the brewing sector in Xinjiang. The overall purpose of this restructuring was to consolidate the 11 breweries in Xinjiang owned by Wusu Brewery (5) and Xinjiang Brewery Group (6).

The legal restructuring is now completed. Consequently Carlsberg now owns 50% of the combined Wusu/Xinjiang Brewing Group , which has a combined market share of 90%. The other 50% of the combined brewing group is owned by Xinjiang Hops, a company listed on the Shanghai stock exchange.

"Beer consumption in W. China is still significantly below the national average; in certain provinces, less then 1/4 of the national average. This combined with the central government's desire to develop W. China both financially and in all other areas and to catch up with the rest of China, means that the potential for increase of beer consumption in this region is very significant. This combined with the opportunity Carlsberg has had to buy into leading breweries in all the provinces, where Carlsberg is present, means that we have established a very solid base for growing our business in China considerably," says Jesper B. Madsen, VP for Carlsberg Asia.

Map of Carlsberg's presence in China and drawing of planned greenfield brewery in Ningxia can be seen here.