E-Malt.com News article: 1861

The global beer market is due to reach 1.5 billion hectolitres by 2005, according to leading beverage industry analysts Canadean in their latest annual Global Beer Report. Total world of beer grew by 2.3% in 2002 to reach 1.4 billion hectolitres, driven mainly by strong growth rates in Asia, East Europe and Africa. Consumption in Central & South America fell marginally after years of growth, volumes being hit by the deteriorating economic situation in a number of the region’s largest beer markets. Consumption in the developed markets of West Europe and Australasia fell slightly, although North America posted modest growth, fuelled by the strength of the imported beer sector in the USA.

Last year, China overtook the USA to become the world’s leading beer market, having grown by over 50 million hectolitres between 1997 and 2002. Russia is another market which has grown dramatically, consumption rising by over 40 million hectolitres over the same period. The US market, meanwhile, continues on an upward path, buoyed by the increasing demand for imported beers.

Total beer imports into the USA last year stood at just under 27 million hectolitres, making it the largest beer importer in the world. To put this in context, this makes the imported beer market in the USA bigger than the entire Polish beer market, and would rank as the world’s 9th largest market in its own right. Other key importing countries are the UK, France, Italy, Spain and, Germany. Looking at exports, Mexico overtook the Netherlands in 2002 to become the world’s leading exporter of beer. Both countries shipped around 13 million hectolitres of beer in 2002, whilst the world’s third largest exporter, Germany, shipped a further 11 million hectolitres.

In terms of per capita consumption, the Czechs continue to be the world’s biggest beer drinkers, consuming 160 litres per head per annum. The only other three countries with per capita consumption rates over 100 litres per annum are, in order, Ireland, Germany and Austria, all located in beer’s traditional heartland of north western Europe.


01 December, 2003