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Beer drinkers guzzle Tsingtao

China's famous Tsingtao (青島) beer has captured nearly 5 percent of the Taiwanese market, just three months after the nation dropped a five-decade ban on importing Chinese beer, Tsingtao's sales agent said yesterday.

More than 14 million cans of Tsingtao beer have been sold in Taiwan since April, mostly at convenience stores, restaurants and seafood stalls at night markets, said Peter Tsai (蔡清富), vice president of the Taiwan Tsingtao Brewery Corp (台灣青啤). A can sells for NT$32 (US$0.95).

"Many Taiwanese have visited China and have drank Tsingtao beer, and they are looking for a familiar, not a new taste," Tsai said.

The nation's biggest local brand, Taiwan Beer (台灣啤酒), has had 85 percent of the local market. Carlsberg, Budweiser, Heineken, Asahi and Kirin are among the more popular foreign brands.

Tsai said he expects Tsingtao will expand its market share from 5 percent to 20 percent in Taiwan in three years. Tsingtao beer, founded in 1903, has 8.5 percent of the Chinese market, Tsai said.

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