Ireland: Consumption of alcohol at its lowest level with beer and cider hit hardest

Consumption of alcohol in Ireland is at its lowest level in 30 years, according to Revenue Clearance figures, The Drinks Business reported on September 7.

Data shows that alcohol consumption fell by 10.8% in the first half of 2021 (January-June), compared with the same period last year.

Beer and cider sales were hit the hardest, down by 15% and 13% owing largely to the fact that around 60% of beer sales and 45% of cider sales came from Ireland’s on-trade.

However, the figures show that consumption was down across all categories, with wine consumption down by 11.5% and spirits down by 0.3%.

Patricia Callan, Director of Drinks Ireland said: “While the decline in alcohol consumption was accelerated by Covid-19, it should be noted that it is in line with the trend of consumption falling generally in Ireland over the past 30 years. The average alcohol consumption in 2020 was 29.8% lower than the peak of 2001. Overall, alcohol consumption declined last year by 6.6% to its lowest level in thirty years.”

The findings confirm that alcohol consumption declined dramatically as a result of Covid-19 as well as revealing that the first half of 2021 suffered a 14.1% drop compared with the same period in 2019, before the pandemic hit.

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