Nearly 40 billion litres of beer produced in the EU last year

39 billion litres of beer were produced in the EU last year.

That’s 400 million more than 2015, the European Statistics Office Eurostat revealed on Friday. That’s the equivalent of 76 litres per habitant. Belgium alone produced 2.3 billion litres (6%), the sixth highest production rate.

Two thirds of all the alcoholic beer was produced in six member states, with Germany coming top with 8.3 billion litres (21%). Next is the UK (5.1 billion, 13%), followed by Poland (4 billion, 10%), Spain (3.7 billion, 9%) and the Netherlands (2.6 billion, 7%).

The Netherlands is the biggest exporter of beer, at 1.9 billion litres. They are closely followed by Germany (1.7 billion) and Belgium (1.5 billion).

The US is by far the biggest import market for the EU (1.1 billion, 34% of the total European export), followed by China (525 million, 16%) and Canada (202 million, 6%).

The import of non-European beverages remains low. Member states opt mainly for Mexican beers (179.5 million litres, just over half of the imports). The next popular are Siberian beers (46.9 million, 13%), then American beers (36.5 million, 10%), Belorussian beers (20.6 million, 6%), Chinese beers (16.4 million, 4%) and Russian beers (11.6 million, 3%).

900 million litres of beer containing less than 0.5% or no alcohol came from European breweries in 2016.


The author: Michel DEURINCK

Michel Deurinck, born in Brussels in 1950, started his career in the Belgian civil service, dedicating over 30 years to public service. Upon retirement, he pursued his passion for journalism. Transitioning into this new field, he quickly gained recognition for his insightful reporting on politics and culture. Deurinck's balanced and thoughtful approach to journalism has made him a respected figure in Belgian media.

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