Beer Market in the EU - Key Insights

IndexBox has just published a new report, the EU - Beer Made From Malt (Excluding Non-Alcoholic Beer) - Market Analysis, Forecast, Size, Trends And Insights. Here is a summary of the report's key findings.

The revenue of the beer market in the European Union amounted to $26.7B in 2017, lowering by -2.7% against the previous year. This figure reflects the total revenues of producers and importers (excluding logistics costs, retail marketing costs, and retailers' margins, which will be included in the final consumer price). The beer consumption continues to indicate a measured decline. The pace of growth was the most pronounced in 2011, when it surged by 6.8% against the previous year. The level of beer consumption peaked at $36.4B in 2008; however, from 2009 to 2017, consumption failed to regain its momentum.

Production in the EU

In 2017, approx. 36B litres of beer made from malt (excluding non-alcoholic beer) were produced in the European Union; therefore, remained relatively stable against the previous year. The beer production continues to indicate a mild downturn.

Beer Exports

Exports in the EU

The exports stood at 9.2B litres in 2017, approximately reflecting the previous year. The total export volume increased at an average annual rate of +2.6% from 2007 to 2017; the trend pattern remained consistent, with somewhat noticeable fluctuations being recorded throughout the analyzed period.

In value terms, beer exports amounted to $8B (IndexBox estimates) in 2017. The total export value increased at an average annual rate of +1.7% over the period from 2007 to 2017; the trend pattern remained consistent, with only minor fluctuations throughout the analyzed period. Over the period under review, beer exports attained their peak figure at $8.5B in 2013; however, from 2014 to 2017, exports stood at a somewhat lower figure.

Exports by Country

In 2017, the Netherlands (1.9B litres), Belgium (1.6B litres) and Germany (1.6B litres) were the main exporters of beer made from malt (excluding non-alcoholic beer) in the European Union, mixed up 55% of total export. France (650M litres) occupied the second position in the ranking, followed by the UK (569M litres), the Czech Republic (477M litres) and Ireland (434M litres). All these countries together took approx. 23% share of total exports. Poland (325M litres), Denmark (325M litres), Italy (279M litres), Spain (266M litres) and Portugal (203M litres) followed a long way behind the leaders.

From 2007 to 2017, the most notable rate of growth in terms of exports, amongst the main exporting countries, was attained by France (+13.4% per year), while the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

In value terms, the largest beer markets worldwide were the Netherlands ($1.9B), Belgium ($1.7B) and Germany ($1.3B), with a combined 61% share of total exports. These countries were followed by the UK, France, Ireland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Poland, which together accounted for a further 34%.

Export Prices by Country

In 2017, the beer export price in the European Union amounted to $862 per thousand litres, remaining relatively unchanged against the previous year. The the beer export price continues to indicate a relatively flat trend pattern.

Export prices varied noticeably by the country of destination; the country with the highest export price was the UK ($1.2 per litre), while Poland ($473 per thousand litres) was amongst the lowest.

From 2007 to 2017, the most notable rate of growth in terms of export prices was attained by Belgium (+1.7% per year), while the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

Beer Imports

Imports in the EU

The imports stood at 6B litres in 2017, therefore, remained relatively stable against the previous year. The total import volume increased at an average annual rate of +2.8% from 2007 to 2017; however, the trend pattern indicated some noticeable fluctuations being recorded throughout the analyzed period.

In value terms, beer imports stood at $4.5B (IndexBox estimates) in 2017. The total import value increased at an average annual rate of +1.8% from 2007 to 2017; however, the trend pattern remained relatively stable, with somewhat noticeable fluctuations throughout the analyzed period. Over the period under review, beer imports attained their maximum at $4.6B in 2014; however, from 2015 to 2017, imports remained at a lower figure.

Imports by Country

In 2017, the UK (1.1B litres), France (794M litres), Germany (678M litres), Italy (645M litres), the Netherlands (515M litres) and Spain (503M litres) were the largest importers of beer made from malt (excluding non-alcoholic beer) in the European Union, making up 71% of total import. Belgium (267M litres), Ireland (235M litres), Slovakia (153M litres), Hungary (113M litres), Sweden (109M litres) and Latvia (108M litres) held the mild share of total imports.

From 2007 to 2017, the most notable rate of growth in terms of imports, amongst the main importing countries, was attained by Latvia (+13.5% per year), while the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

In value terms, France ($829M), the UK ($628M) and Italy ($586M) constituted the countries with the highest levels of imports in 2017, together accounting for 45% of total imports. Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Ireland, Sweden, Slovakia, Latvia and Hungary lagged somewhat behind, together accounting for a further 42%.

Import Prices by Country

In 2017, the beer import price in the European Union amounted to $757 per thousand litres, rising by 2.4% against the previous year. The the beer import price continues to indicate a relatively flat trend pattern.

Import prices varied noticeably by the country of destination; the country with the highest import price was Sweden ($1.2 per litre), while Hungary ($415 per thousand litres) was amongst the lowest.

From 2007 to 2017, the most notable rate of growth in terms of import prices was attained by Sweden (+4.4% per year), while the other leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.

Source: IndexBox AI Platform