FAKE BUDWEISER FACTORY BUSTED IN CHINA

WHEN IT COMES to counterfeit alcohol, wine and spirits are big business, generating millions of dollars for fraudsters. But fake Budweiser? That’s correct – it would appear counterfeit Bud is a big thing. An underground factory in China’s southern Guangdong province has been busted for producing bogus cans of Budweiser after a video showing an unsanitary production line went viral. According to local authorities, the underground workshop was making more than 6OO,OOO crates of beer every month. In the video uploaded to Shanghaiist, workers were seen refilling empty cans of Budweiser in a clear, white container box that was filled with beer and then the cans were passed onto a conveyor belt for bottling. It’s unknown where these counterfeit beer cans were sold, but previous busts indicate that the beers were mostly bought by night clubs, bars and KTV (karaoke) parlors. A can of Budweiser typically sells for RMB 7 (US$1.O2). The company’s office in China issued a statement confirming the beers shown in the videos are produced illegally, and said it had filed a report with the police. China is the world’s largest beer market and the craft beer sector is experiencing particularly fast growth, thanks to its lower prices compared with premium beer. AB InBev, owner of Budweiser, is ramping up efforts to dominate the craft beer market in China. The company had 15.7% of the market share in 2O15, behind China Resources and domestic beer brand Tsingtao.