UK: British Beer and Pub Association's Statistical Handbook 2006 says beer remains Britain’s favourite alcoholic drink with 43% of the market

Britain's alcohol consumption fell last year for the first time since 1998, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) revealed in its Statistical Handbook 2006, making it an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the UK drinks industry, a British Beer and Pub Association press release reported October 16.

A key fact to emerge in this definitive compilation of drinks industry statistics is that beer remains Britain's favourite alcoholic drink, accounting for 43% of the market. The steady shift away from 'on-trade' sales has continued, with 41 % of Britain's beer now bought in shops and supermarkets. In 2000, the figure was 33% and in 1998, 30%.

UK alcohol consumption per head dipped by 1.6% last year - the first item there has been a fall in annual consumption in six years.

The UK Government continues to enjoy very healthy tax revenues from the alcohol sector, with income from excise duties and VAT reaching nearly £14 billion in 2005/2006. Taxes on Britain's beer alone raised £6 billion. On a 'pence-per-pint' basis across the European Union, UK beer is out-taxed only in Finland and Ireland, and is over three times the EU average. Even in high tax Sweden, duty rates don't exceed those in the UK. On the final price of a typical British pint, taxes account for 31%.

Britons still drink less alcohol per head than most other European countries. While a few countries, such as Italy and Greece, record lower per-head consumption, the latest BBPA Statistics Handbook data show that 11 European countries across western and central Europe drink more than the Brits - including the French, Germans, and Spanish.

Mark Hastings, Director of Communications at BBPA, comments: "British drinking patterns are certainly changing, though the numbers show a fall in total consumption on the previous year. It is the increase in drink bought for consumption at home that tells the real story of the nation's changing drinking habits."

The British Beer and Pub Association is the UK's leading organisation representing the brewing and pub sector. Its members account for 98% of the beer brewed in the UK and own nearly two thirds of Britain's 59,000 pubs.

The British Beer and Pub Association's Statistical Handbook 2006 provides fully updated trends from the most accurate and comprehensive survey of the UK beer market. Pub ownership tables include all the significant changes over the last year in this rapidly evolving sector.

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