ABS Response to "Beer drinkers get with the strength" (Australian Financial Review 16 April 2008)

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has re-issued its Apparent Consumption of Alcohol 2006-07 publication (cat. no. 4307.0.55.001) to correct a small number of errors. The corrections have affected some of the data relating to beer and spirits, which has had a flow-on effect to data on total apparent consumption of alcohol.

The revisions are in Table 1, BEER, in the 2006-07 data for the quantity of mid strength beer, and as a result, for full strength beer, and consequently to the apparent per person consumption of these beer types. The two measures for apparent consumption of spirits in Table 3, ALCOHOL IN THE FORM OF SPIRITS, have also been revised. All data relating to spirits have subsequently been revised in Table 5, ALCOHOL, which resulted in the total alcohol available for consumption being revised.

Although the changes to spirits and full strength beer figures have only a small impact on the data, the changes to the mid-strength beer data now show an increase in both the amount available and the apparent consumption of alcohol for mid-strength beer between 2005-06 to 2006-07, rather than the previously reported decrease.