Japan's Sapporo loses No.3 spot to Suntory in H1

TOKYO, July 10 (Reuters) - Japanese brewer Sapporo Holdings (2501.T) lost the No.3 spot in first-half domestic shipments to rival Suntory Ltd, data from breweries showed on Thursday, upsetting the long-held industry ranking following Sapporo's price hike.

The data showed privately held Suntory was the third largest brewery for the six months ended in June, the first time it has held that position since current records began in 1992.

Rivals have raised beer prices to pass on surging raw materials costs, but Suntory, the maker of "Premium Malt's", has said it will not raise prices of its canned beer until September, attracting price-conscious consumers. Its first-half domestic market share rose to 13.0 percent.

Sapporo, the maker of "Yebisu" beer, had raised prices in April. It had a market share of 12.1 percent.

Asahi Breweries Ltd (2502.T) held the top spot with a 37.5 percent share, followed by Kirin Holdings Co Ltd's (2503.T) 36.7 percent.

Overall shipments by Japan's top five brewers fell 4.2 percent in the first half from a year earlier.

For years, top two breweries Asahi and Kirin have been in a close contest for the No.1 position of the world's sixth-largest beer consuming country, but Sapporo had securely held the No. 3 spot. (Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Michael Watson)