The Korean beer maker Oriental Brewery said Wednesday it would lift prices of its beer products by an average annual rate of 7.7 percent starting from March 8.

The price hike comes as the company seeks to offset higher raw material and packaging costs fueled by COVID-induced supply disruptions.

The beer manufacturer said it has seen the global price of barley, the primary ingredient of beer, climb by 33 percent since pre-pandemic levels.

The price of aluminum, the core material for packaging canned products, has also increased by over 45 percent on-year.

“Oriental Brewery has managed to maintain its prices for the last six years despite rising costs. But the recent cost pressures leave us with no option but to adjust prices for some of our products.” said a company spokesperson. “We’re still absorbing some of the additional costs so that the customers do not take on the entire burden.”

By Ahn Ju-hee (dianahn@heraldcorp.com)