BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Two months ago, Walmart started cutting prices on soda, which has led to an increase in soft drink sales, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. However, beverage companies are concerned that such deep discounts could hurt the industry in the long run.

Many Walmart stores routinely sell 24-can packs of Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Dr Pepper for $5, with some outlet shoppers seeing the price drop even further to $3.99. To stay competitive, grocery stores have started discounting soda prices, too. Last year, the average cost for a 24-pack in supermarkets was $6.12, according to Beverage Digest.

What??s not clear is how long Walmart will continue its soda promotions. The industry is unhappy because the low prices could hurt the work of the last eight or nine years to condition consumers to pay more for soft drinks. That initiative was partly made to give bottlers more funds.

"Giving away 24-packs is not in the interest of the industry," said Bill Pecoriello, CEO of Consumer Edge Research, during a recent Beverage Digest conference.

"I wouldn??t say what we??ve got right now is rational pricing," said Gary Fayard, chief financial officer for Coke, during the same meeting.

Walmart is using low soda prices to reach budget-minded shoppers. "At the end of the day, it??s brands that drive traffic," said John Faucher, an analyst with J.P. Morgan.

"The big beverage companies have an interest in rational and sensible pricing," said John Sicher, editor of Beverage Digest. "They need the bottlers and bottling operations to be healthy and earn a decent return so they can function well and aggressively."