Because of price tourism

Cheers: beer deposit increased in border region

Since February, there has been a seven euro deposit on an empty crate of barley juice and bottles.

(Bild: APA/dpa/Robert Michael)

A higher bottle deposit has been in force in Austria since the first of February - since then, you get seven euros back for an empty crate of beer in this country. In Germany it is only 3.10 euros. Some "deposit tourists" in the border region have apparently taken advantage of this. But this is now a thing of the past.

German retailers have now reacted and also increased the deposit for Austrian beer. Our neighbors now also have to pay a seven euro deposit for a crate of beer. According to a report in the "Passauer Neue Presse" newspaper, the regulation applies to Austrian beer brands in the Bavarian border region.

Previously 3.90 euros "profit"
Previously, it was possible for "border crossers" to buy beer across the border in Germany and then return it in Austria - and thus "pocket" 3.90 euros per returned crate. Of course, this game was at the expense of the breweries and beverage producers.

Small-scale "deposit tourism" with the big neighbor
A "Krone" report in neighboring Bavaria recently showed that although "deposit tourism" is an issue, it has not (yet) been practiced on a large scale. Matthias Schnaitl, Managing Director of the Schnaitl brewery in Gundertshausen, already had the right beer smell: "The conclusion is that the German market will follow suit, meaning that the German bottle deposit will be increased."