May 30th 2008From Economist.com
The reported price of beer
I thought this was interesting, I never would have guessed the areas in which beer prices are the highest.
http://www.economist.com/daily/news/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11333131&fsrc=nwl
-----Hey Angel,
I couldn't find a way to post a picture into a response comment; the closest thing I found I could do was edit it into the original post here, so that's where I'll paste it for now. If you don't want it here or know of a way I can include pictures when I post comments, please let me know; I don't mean to screw up your format here!
Anyways, here's me and a few friends with our hostel owner (he's the one feeling up the girl in our group) in Damascus, along with a portion of the ludicrous amount of Amstel we plundered from the liquor store across the square.
Tom
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3 comments:
these prices are interesting. however, take the same argument made in the article about hummers and global warming, and apply it here.
i have a strong feeling that if you look at some of those countries with the highest prices, there are many, logical reasons for the high prices:
1-no local breweries,
2-import tariffs, etc, from breweries in neighboring countries,
3-beer selectivity on the part of the posters to pintprice.com
for instance, i could post prices of beer from when i was in russia this summer and it would compete on the low end of the scale. i often could buy .5 liter beers for $.50US or less. why? local breweries, no selection bias on the part of the consumer (me!), and russia is crazy anyway.
Interesting article. Let me add what I can to the discussion. What's totally missing here are prices from the Arab world. Yes, although Arab states are mostly populated by Muslims, and although Islam prohibits the consumption of alcoholic beverages, alcohol (including beer) is still imported, consumed, and even produced in several Arab states. Only the strictest countries (i.e., Saudi Arabia and Iran, where Sharia is the basis of law) are actually dry. And not all Muslims are as strict about all of Islam's stipulations as people might think (it reminds me of all the Catholics I grew up with in Chicagoland - NONE of them followed the rule of celibacy before marriage).
Anyways, as to prices of beer in the Arab world: it surprised me how much it varied. Most of the beer in the Arab world is imported (Amstel is, by far, the default standby). There are some Arab domestics, such as Petra Beer from Jordan and Stella from Egypt (not to be confused with Stella-Artois), but they are all the worst beers you will ever taste. Ever. So, importation, at least from what I observed, has relatively no effect on the average price of a beer, since it's all mostly imported anyways. Rather, it depends on factors in whatever country you're in.
Beer is VERY expensive in Jordan, where I spent most of my time. For example, an average mug of beer cost roughly $7-8. This was largely because of a gigantic "sin tax" the government had put on it, which reflects the partial extent to which Jordanian law is still somewhat based in religious codes. It's also meant to take advantage of the community of drinking tourists and expats in Amman. There are one or two expat establishments in the capital that I found, and they do a great business during their half-price happy hours.
When I went to Syria, however, beer was dirt cheap. We went to a nearby liquor store and got HUGE cans of Amstel for just under the equivalent of $2. (I have a picture I could illustrate this with - how do I add it?) Part of this is because Syria is a secular regime. But, if you ever go to Damascus (and I highly recommend it to anyone who has the urge), one of the first, most notable things you'll find is that ALL food and drink across the board, no matter how elegant or gourmet, is dirt cheap. This is mainly because most all of Syria is dirt poor, I think (again, I'm not the real econ expert here; I'm just going off what I observed, so maybe someone else can explain this phenomenon to me).
When I went to Egypt, the beer in Cairo was more moderately-priced. If I had to hazard a guess off-the -cuff, I'd say it was because Egypt also has a secular government, like Syria (so no "sin taxes"), but has a slightly better economy due to the volume of tourism that heads through Cairo, along with a slightly higher volume of trade (though not much). Egypt also has a more substantial population of non-Muslims (Coptic Christians, in particular, although it's still most definitely a Muslim country), so that helps broaden the base of drinkers in the country.
I've still yet to get there, but Lebanon also brews its own brands of beer (it's only marginally better than the other terrible stuff). The liberal and diverse nature of that country, however, probably makes it the most common Arab state to drink in; from what I hear, it's also one of the most expensive places to eat, drink, and live in general in the region.
It should be noted that all four of these countries also produce their fair share of wine. Shiraz, Iran, also used to be a famous wine production center, but no more, alas... But, wine is a totally different story, and I'm tired of typing :-)
Tom, I always love your comments/articles:-)
I let others comment on you comments, really because I dont' have anything to add but a thank you for the info. However, to post a photo go to the customize tab and then add a new page element, and select add a photo.
If it doesn't work send it to me and I'll put it up.
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