Beer Production Report

One of the fastest growing businesses in the world is Beer! In 2011, it rose by another 60 million hectoliters to 1.9 billion hectoliters, and was 38.3% higher than in 2000, according to the annual beer and hops report by Barth-Haas Group.


Although in this case as well growth is being fuelled by emerging economies. In most developed countries, production dropped.
In the US, it edged down 1.6% last year and 5.7% since 1990—despite a significant increase in the population.
In Germany, it stabilized recently, but had plunged 20.5% since 1990.
Production in the UK had skidded 27.5% during that time, though it ticked up last year.
In Japan, production is down 14.7% since 1990, and down 3.6% from 2010, the seventh straight year of declines.
But the rest of Asia is on a binge mission. Well, except India, the only major country that hasn’t yet discovered a taste for beer.
The driver in worldwide beer production growth was China, up 9.3% in 2011, and up an astonishing 600% since 1990. Of the 60 million hectoliters in growth worldwide last year, 42 million where brewed in China.
Vietnam made huge strides; in percentage terms a 2,680% melt-up since 1990.
Beer production also grew in Africa and Latin America.
Russia is a special case: in the Soviet Union in 1990, beer production was zero.
By 1996, Russian beers and Heineken were available, but hard to find in smaller towns or on trains, though vodka (served in water glasses or by the bottle) was everywhere. Since then, Russia has shot up to third place in beer production, knocking off Germany and other countries.





Today, the Czech Republic and Austria are the top two beer-drinking nations in the world with 143 and 108 liters per capita respectively.


 In 2011, 51.8% of the world’s beer was produced by six mega-brewing groups.

In June, ABInBev announced that it would acquire 7th ranked Grupo Modelo, giving the company a 21.5% share of the worldwide market. Without further acquisitions, the top six will brew 54.7% of all beer in 2012.
Germany still has about 1,250 breweries, four times as many as the rest of the EU combined. They range from brewpubs to mega breweries. About half of them are in Bavaria. And there are almost 5,000 brands.