German beer consumption drops 4% in first six months of '03.

Germans seeking relief from the unusually warm temperatures reached for more beer last month--but not enough to turn around slumping beer sales this year. Beer consumption was down 4 percent for the first six months of the year over the same period in 2002, despite a 9.3 increase in June, the Federal Statistics Office said.

Between January and June, traditionally beer-loving Germans bought 5.14 billion liters (1.36 billion gallons) of beer, down 220 million liters (58 million gallons) over that time in 2002.

The drop fits into a pattern of steadily falling beer consumption in Germany since 1995, a trend that experts have attributed to a health-conscious public, high unemployment and the sluggish economy.

This year, however, the trend was exacerbated by a drink deposit system instituted Jan. 1 that requires consumers to pay a deposit of 25 cents (29 U.S. cents) per can, which were before either recycled or thrown away.

"June was a bit better because of all of the nice days, but in general the consumption is down because of the can deposit," said .statistics office spokesman Klaus-Juergen Hammer.

Under the new system, customers need to keep their purchase receipts to get their money back, making it necessary to return to the store where they bought the product, which people find inconvenient and sometimes impossible. Some are turning to bottles, which can be returned without a receipt.