Heineken drinkers in the US don't know how lucky they are - they ought to be paying much more for their beer.

Since it began to crumble at the end of January 2002, the dollar has lost about a third of its value against the euro,ending several fat years when a strengthening US currency swelled the profits of Europeans selling into the American market. Although an exporter's main temptation may be to raise prices to preserve profit margin, the US wholesale prices of Heineken beer and Amstel Light, its sister brand, have been increased just twice in that three-year period, each time by an average of just 2.5 per cent. Moreover, the second increase did not cover all of its US operations.