World: World beer production up 4% last year

World beer production in 2021 was up by just below 71 mln hl year on year, amounting to a rise of 4 %, the Barth-Haas Group reported.

The top five beer-producing countries, China, USA, Brazil, Mexico and Germany, were able to maintain their share of global beer production and accounted for half of total brewing volume in both 2020 and 2021.

The United Kingdom (+6.2 mln hl), Spain (+3.3 mln hl) and Russia (+2.6 mln hl) were primarily responsible for stabilizing output in Europe. Total European output rose by 13 mln hl.

In the Americas, Brazil (+10.2 mln hl) and Mexico (+7.8 mln hl) were once again the growth markets. Overall, output in the Americas increased by 28 mln hl.

China (+15.6 mln hl) was the main contributor to the 20m hl of growth in Asia, whereas Japan (-2.3 mln hl) and South Korea (-1.1 mln hl) diminished the positive impact of other countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia (each +2 mln hl) on the result.

Beer output in Africa increased by 10 mln hl. The individual countries once again paint a varied picture. South Africa (+5 mln hl) and Angola (+2 mln hl) saw the largest growth, while Ethiopia, afflicted by civil war, continued to see a steep decline (-1.7 mln hl).

The list of the world’s top 40 brewers hardly changed in 2021, but as every year there were winners and losers. Western Europe was one of the regions that continued to suffer under COVID-related restrictions and most breweries based there reported a decline in sales, while other regions mostly reported improvements compared with 2020. Overall, the combined output of the world’s 40 biggest brewers increased by around 80 million hectolitres in 2021. Consequently, their total market share rose to 91.4 %.

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