Johannesburg - Consumers should brace themselves for a shortage of their favourite beer in the next few weeks.
SAB said on Friday it was experiencing shortages as a result of the "unusual high" demand of its brands.
SAB distributes brands such as Sarita, Castle Lite, Peroni, Nastro Azzurro, Pilsner Urquell, Hansa Marzen Gold, Miller Genuine Draft, Hansa Pilsener and Castle Lager.
The shortfall has been caused by the shortage of glass, mainly the green and flint or clear glass, which is used for Sarita and Miller brands.
"While we're obviously delighted with the increase in volumes, it's proving quite difficult to keep up with demand in certain areas," said SAB sales and distribution director Wayne McCauley.
McCauley said the effect of the country's buoyant economy was driving demand and creating pressure on SAB and its suppliers, particularly with glass suppliers.
He said the high demand for brands in returnable bottles had put pressure on these packs' availability, and growth in demand for non-returnable bottles had resulted in temporary stock shortages of certain brands, which would continue intermittently over the next two to three months.
To mitigate the shortage, SAB would import 50 000 tons of glass, which was expected to arrive next month.
SAB's spokesperson, Shirley Scriven, said it was difficult to say which brands would not be available. But she warned consumers to expect shortages as early as next week.
Pick 'n Pay's spokesperson, Tamra Veley, said the retailer had not experienced any shortages in its liquor stores.
Consol chief executive Mike Arnold said the demand for glass had exceeded manufacturing capacity.
He said the problem was not the raw materials for glass, but manufacturing, which had fallen about 8 percent short of current demand.
Consol, which supplies SAB with glass, announced recently that it would build a new furnace in Midrand, Johannesburg. Costing R400 million, the company's fourth furnace would increase output by 15 percent to 845 000 tons and increase production to more than 3 million bottles a year.
The new plant would help meet demand, as the local glass container market was expected to reach 1 million tons a year over the next year.