Guinness Nigeria to Export Beer to South Africa to Increase Sales

The rate of foreign exchange in Nigeria is about to increase as an alcoholic beverage company spreads its tentacles to South Africa.

This may be coming as massive news to the currently recessive Nigerian economy as it suffers from lack of forex due to the depletion in the prices of crude oil which is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy.

Guinness Nigeria Plc plans to increase exports to improve sales and generate more foreign exchange as the country’s second-largest brewer battles to overcome an economic slump in its home market.

The unit of London-based Diageo Plc will consider selling Guinness stout and the herbal drink Orijin in South Africa to boost the proportion of beverages it sends to international markets, Chief Executive Officer, Peter Ndegwa, said in an interview with Bloomberg.

That will help resolve the brewer’s shortage of foreign currency in Nigeria, which the beverage maker needs to pay for imported goods, ThisDay reports.

“With all the challenges we have had with foreign currency availability, we realise that export is a great opportunity to gain foreign exchange and stabilise,” Ndegwa said.

“We have heard a lot of inquiries from South Africa. We are currently in the process of seeing how we can export some of those brands to the country.”

Heineken NV is also expanding in South Africa with the recent introduction of Sol Mexican lager, part of a plan to boost its market share in a country dominated by SABMiller Plc. Guinness Nigeria will also seek to export beer to target Africans living on other continents, Ndegwa said.

Generating foreign currency from exports would help Guinness Nigeria offset a scarcity of dollars in its home market caused partly by a slump in oil revenue, the country’s biggest earner.