The increase in Chile's wine exports, as well as higher domestic consumption of beers & non-alcoholic drinks, has boosted the sales of Cristalerias de Chile. Chairman of the company, Ricardo Claro, said that the sales volume of Cristalerias reached 311,053 tons, meaning a 9.7% expansion & a 9.6% increase in unit terms, compared to 2005. The figures were released in the context of the ordinary shareholders meeting of the Cristalerias de Chile holding company, which includes several other firms besides the bottle maker. The official added that there has been a significant increase in the wine bottle division because of the 6.6% expansion registered in Chile's shipments & the development of new bottles for the domestic sparkling wine market. Separately, the National Soft Drinks Association (Anber) said beverage sales, which include soft drinks, waters, juices and nectars, registered a 6.5% expansion in the 1Q 2007, compared to the same period of 2006. The president of the association, Renato Ramirez, attributed the good figures to Chile's economic performance. "The expansion seen in employment and the internal demand has positively hit the consumption of soft drinks. Chile has started 2007 well, and so have we", the official commented. During the first three months of the year, a total of 551 million liters of soft drinks were sold, comprised of 455.5 million liters of soft drinks, 32.2 million liters of nectars and juices and 62.2 million liters of mineralized, purified or flavored waters.
