The global brewing industry experienced a slight decline in 2023 due to a challenging economic environment. Beer production worldwide decreased by 0.9 percent, totaling 1.88 billion hectoliters, as revealed in the BarthHaas Report 2023/2024 presented today. This decline indicates the industry's struggle to achieve sustained recovery amidst high costs and economic pressures.
The decline in sales was not uniform across all regions. The negative trends in the Americas (-5.6%), Europe (-1.7%), and Asia (-1.0%) were partially offset by positive developments in Africa (+3.1%) and Australia/Oceania (+3.4%). The detailed figures are as follows:
Americas: The United States faced a marked decline in beer production, falling by 5.6 percent to 193.0 million hectoliters, making it the only major beer-producing country in the Americas to see a decrease. In contrast, Brazil and Mexico saw slight increases in production.
Europe: The European market saw a slight decline in beer production, down by 1.7 percent to 511.1 million hectoliters. Notably, Germany, the United Kingdom and Poland experienced significant drops in production, while the rest of Europe saw a relatively stable performance.
Asia: Beer production in Asia fell by 1.0 percent overall, with significant variations among individual markets. India and Cambodia saw notable production increases, but these were offset by declines in China, Japan, and Vietnam.
Africa: Africa recorded a 3.1 percent increase in beer production, driven by significant growth in South Africa, Ethiopia, and Cameroon. This makes Africa one of the regions with the highest growth rates in 2023.
Australia/Oceania: This region saw the highest growth rate in percentage terms, with a 3.4 percent increase, although from a low base, bringing total production to 18.5 million hectoliters.
“After modest growth [in worldwide beer production] in 2022, we anticipated a small increase in 2023. However, high costs for energy, raw materials, packaging, logistics, and labor continued to pressure the brewing business globally,” Peter Hintermeier, Managing Director of BarthHaas stated.
Thomas Raiser, Managing Director of BarthHaas, highlighted the uncertainties facing the brewing industry. “The ongoing effects of the war in Ukraine and high costs across the supply chain are significant challenges. Coupled with high inflation impacting consumers, we expect beer production to remain stable in 2024 but cannot predict a clear trend for the future.”
The list of the top five beer-producing nations remained unchanged from last year, with China as the largest producer, followed by the USA, Brazil, Mexico, and Germany.
