Beer consumption drops 5 percent in first five months of 2015

Like in neighbouring Germany, beer consumption in Belgium continues to decline. In the first five months of this year, the drop was 5 percent over the same period last year, the Belgian Brewers’ association reported on 19 June 2015. “This is the strongest decline in the past 15 years”, the association told local media. Fortunately, exports are compensating for some of the decline at home.

Between 1995 and 2014, domestic sales decreased steadily by 23 percent. Last year was an atypical year because of the Football World Cup, which resulted in a less pronounced decrease. Per capita consumption of beer now stands at 72 litres (in Germany it is still slightly over 100 litres).

According to Jean-Louis Van de Perre, President of the Belgian Brewers, the drop in beer consumption is made worse by the economy. Belgians visit their pubs less often than they did in the past. The country may still sport the highest number of pubs per person, but this is not to deny that many pubs have shuttered in recent years. The industry wants to reverse this trend with targeted campaigns.

Pils remains by far the most popular type of beer, accounting for three quarters of total beer consumption, although the demand for specialty and craft beers is on the rise. At the end of 2014 there were 168 breweries, ranging from family-run and small breweries and medium-sized players to large international breweries, up from about 100 breweries five years ago.

In contrast to the declining beer sales in Belgium, export sales are rising. The dependency on exports is significant: already 62 percent of total beer production is destined for international markets.

Belgian beer exports 2014 (intra- and extra EU) in million hl