SA brewer could destroy millions of litres of beer

A major brewing company in South Africa has warned that it could be forced to destroy 130 million litres of beer if it does not begin to sell them in the next few days. 

South African Breweries (SAB) has been severely affected by a ban on all sales of alcohol as part of a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus. 

"Roughly 400 million bottles of beer are sitting in our beer tanks across the country," SAB's Zoleka Lisa is quoted as saying by news site EWN.

"As SAB, [if] we're not permitted to package and transport this beer to our storage depots across the country in the next few days, we will, unfortunately, be forced to discard this inventory."

SAB also warned that it could be forced to fire half of its front-line workforce - 2,000 people - should it not be able to continue bottling or distribution.

The brewery has not initiated any new brewing since the start of the lockdown that was imposed on 23 March. 

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a partial reopening of the economy from 1 May, but most businesses remain closed.

This article originally appeared on BBC News

Photo: AFP