Mexico increased last year its beer production by 8.1%, thus passing Germany as the world’s fourth-largest producer of beer. The Latin American country produced 105 million hectoliters in 2016. “Producing 105 million hectoliters is the result of the confidence and talent that exist in the brewing industry. Being only below countries like China, the United States, and Brazil, countries with a high population density, indicates that we are on the right path, straight to becoming the brewing country of the 21st century, ” said Maribel Quiroga Fernández, general director of Cerveceros de México.
Main driver of the growth is beer export, which grew by 13% to 32 million hectoliters. The fact, that all major Mexican breweries are linked to international brewing groups helped to professionalize Mexican beer exports. Maribel Quiroga puts it in her own words: “Global companies have done a very good job in positioning Mexican beer brands abroad.” And she continues: “The beer style of Mexican brands has been well-received around the world. Their high drinkability and moderate alcohol content rates them as light beers that pair well.”
Still, 80% of all beer exported out of Mexico is going to the United States, but countries like the United Kingdom and China catching up with increases of 50% and more. Other countries like Australia, Canada, Colombia, Belgium and Ireland also experienced last year a double-digit increase in their imports of beer from Mexico.
But not only exports are rising. Also domestic consumption is increasing. Annual per-capita beer consumption in Mexico has increased from 57 liters in 2010 to 63 liters in 2016, which is a growth of almost 11%.
According to figures released by the Mexican Beer Chamber, the leading beer producing countries in the world in 2016 were China (24.2% market share), United States (12.0%), Brazil (7.4%), Mexico (5.7%), and Germany (5.2%). The rest of the world accounts for 45.5% of all beer produced.
