The Czech Republic: Per capita beer consumption falls for second year in a row

Beer consumption per capita in the Czech Republic fell for the second year in a row to 129 litres, the fifth-lowest level since records began in 1950. Production also dropped, but exports rose slightly. The drop over the past two years is attributed to Covid restrictions, but this year inflation and supply problems are set to pose new challenges, Expats.cz reported on April 22.

Czech breweries made 19.6 million hectolitres of beer last year, down 2.8 percent year on year. It fell below 20 million hectolitres for the first time since 2014, according to data from the Czech Beer and Malt Association (ČSPAS).

“In the two years of the Covid, each resident has consumed 30 fewer half litres [per year], and with 129 litres we have reached the fifth-lowest figure ever. The overall domestic consumption was mainly affected by long-lasting anti-epidemic measures, restrictions on catering, and [a drop in] tourism,” ČSPAS chairman František Šámal said.

In 2020, beer consumption was 135 litres per person per year, while in 2019 it was 142. It was as high as 153 in 2009 but has been below 150 ever since. In international comparisons, the Czech Republic has long led the world in consumption per capita.

Beer market expert Tomáš Maier of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of the Czech University of Agriculture (ČZU) in Prague told the news server iDnes.cz the decline in domestic consumption can be halted again if the coronavirus is at an end.

“But we will definitely not get to the consumption of around 160 litres per person that was there 15 years ago," he said.

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