EABL to jumpstart growth in bottled beer in Kenya

An employee inspects bottles of beer on a conveyor belt at the production line inside the East African Breweries Limited factory in Ruaraka factory in Nairobi. [Photo: Reuters]

NAIROBI, Kenya - East African Breweries aims to jumpstart growth in sales of bottled beer in Kenya, as its biggest market’s economy recovers and the government looks set to hold off on tax increases, its chief executive said on Friday.

The brewer, which is controlled by Britain’s Diageo and is known for its Tusker beer, said sales of bottled beer were flat in the first half of the year to December after the government raised excise duty by 5.2 percent.