EU: Netherlands once again the largest beer exporter among EU member states

The Netherlands was once again the largest beer exporter among European Union member states last year, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS). The Dutch exported 2 billion euros worth of beer last year, while Belgium beer exports totaled 1.7 billion euros in 2023, the CBS wrote on March 28 in an analysis about the trade in beer, frozen potato products such as fries and chocolate.

Most beer from the Netherlands is sold to companies and consumers in the United States, but increasingly also to France, South Africa and Paraguay. Belgian beer is often exported to France and the Netherlands. Of all alcoholic drinks imported into the Netherlands, 19 percent comes from Belgium. From that segment, 58 percent consists of beer, the CBS calculated.

Since the first comparisons in 1988, the Netherlands has had an advantage over its southern neighbor when it comes to the beer trade, although this margin has been shrinking. Belgium has started trading significantly higher volumes of beer in the past 20 years, the CBS said.

German beer exports were valued at 1.2 billion euros, placing that country in third. The Czech Republic placed in fourth with 350 million euros in beer exports, narrowly beating France’s total of 340 million euros.

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