The brewing company that owns Tropical, the Belgian-Brazilian company of Tropical, ABInBev, this week ignored the tourism of Gran Canaria, the true driving force of the island's sales, as well as the companies in the hospitality sector in the south of Gran Canaria, in the celebration of 100 years of Tropical. The Gran Canaria brand, which is managed from Tenerife, held an act of celebration without due solemnity and without recognizing the advances that the south of Gran Canaria has contributed to this industry. The president of Tropical is the same as that of Budwaiser in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Brian Russell; The vice president is Guillermo Fruhbeck and the CEO is the Brazilian Mehra Naveen. The last one came to the event. And they have known that Tropical's centenary was in 2024 for years, not every year marks a century of operations.
The discomfort in the field of tourism has been due to the absence of the hotel and non-hotel sector, the great sales driver that remains for beer as it languishes due to the emergence of peninsular brands, damaging the Canary Islands industry, which also has EU protective tariff barriers. For years, tourism has been disconnecting from the local beer brand due to the massive presence of factory-free brands on the islands in terraces and promotional activities, although Belgo-Brazilians are left with the production of white label beers from supermarkets, exposing the prestige of the Gran Canaria brand to its devaluation. In 2024 Tropical, ABInBev's poor sister in the Canary Islands, turns 100 years old, immersed in a technological renewal process of 24 million euros, but for the management based in Tenerife it is as if it were just another product.
Official aid: compensation for maritime transport of goods not included in Annex I of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, with origin or destination in the Canary Islands (1,2 million euros in 2019, 1,3 million in 2020 and 1,7 million euros in 2021); Exemptions to the Tax on Imports and Delivery of merchandise in the Canary Islands (AIEM) 11,3 million euros in 2019, 10,4 million in 2020 and 10,6 million euros in 2021; Operating aid for the Canary Islands REF 1,546; Deduction for investments in the Canary Islands: (5,060,523 euros in 2019 and 1,5 million euros in 2020 and 1,4 million euros in 2021). We are talking about a company that had operating income of 2021 in 121.880.000. February 2023: 10.636.482,56 euros for exemptions from AIEM, a tariff that stops factoryless operators on islands.
One thing is the 100 years of celebration but another is the 30 years since Tropical passed into the hands of the South African SAB Miller and the political power in Tenerife said that the regional headquarters should be on that island. Three decades after that operation, the president of CCC has Canbrew BV (71,03%) as the majority shareholder, which is part of AB InBev (51,03%) and Diageo (20%) and some Canarian partners remain in the capital. .
That 1924 year in which the La Tropical factory began producing beer in the Arenales neighborhood of Las Palmas, an activity that it shared with others, such as the production of chocolate. Its subsequent transformation into Sociedad Industrial Canaria (Sical) in 1939 after the Civil War, its transfer to the Barranco Seco factory in 1965 and the subsequent sale to Compañía Cervecera de Canarias have strengthened the weight of the Tenerife brand, which fights for continue to be a benchmark for beers in the archipelago. Since 1958 in the south of Gran Canaria it was the beer without rival until they decided to leave the entire island market to outside companies.
The Belgo-Brazilian-owned Canarian brewing group generates, according to them, 9.000 jobs; It participates in the shareholding of several Canarian industrial companies and gives priority to local supplies to carry out its activity. CCC produces its own brands of Dorada and Tropical beer, and under license Stella Artois; distributes international brands such as Guinness, Budweiser, Corona, Becks, Leffe and Franziskaner. In addition, it has other drinks such as RedBull energy and Kopparberg cider, among others.
