[first sentense]

December 21, 2009

Kirin Institute of Food and Lifestyle Report Vol. 22
2008 Beer Consumption in Major Countries

Asia Overtakes Europe to become the Global Number One Consumption Market!
Reflecting Production Volume Growth, Chinese Consumption Surpasses 40 million kl!

Kirin Institute of Food and Lifestyle (Kirin Holdings Company, Ltd., Kazuyasu Kato, President and CEO) has compiled its 2008 per-capita beer consumption report. The report summarizes statistics obtained through independent questionnaire surveys answered by various beer associations located in major countries around the world, as well as the latest documents available from overseas. Kirin has been using surveys to track consumption statistics since 1975.

[Summary]

  • Total global beer consumption for 2008 was approximately 178.06 million kl (1.2% year-on-year increase). This marked the 23rd consecutive year of growth in beer consumption, despite the challenging economy.
  • A country-by-country analysis shows that China (4.3% year-on-year increase) was again the world's number one consumer for the sixth consecutive year, surpassing the 40 million kl mark in both production and consumption for the first time.
  • By region, Asia demonstrated marked growth (3.0% increase), expanding its share of global beer consumption, passing Europe to become the world's number one beer consumption market.

Total global beer consumption for 2008 was approximately 178.06 million kl, an increase of nearly 2.15 million kl (1.2% annual increase) over the prior year, and the 23rd consecutive year of increased consumption. The amount of beer consumed during 2008 would have filled the Tokyo Dome nearly 144 times over (Tokyo Dome internal volume amounts to 1.24 million kl), 1.7 more times than the volume consumed in the prior year.

1.Consumption by Country (Table 1)

China was once again the number one consumer of beer in the world, marking its sixth-consecutive year since 2003 to win that title. There were no changes in rankings among the top eight global consumers between 2007 and 2008.

Japan maintained its spot in the rankings; however, consumption experienced a 2.7% annual decrease due to price increases (necessitated by higher raw materials prices), an aging population, and diversification in preferences.

2.Consumption by Region (Table 2)

By region, all areas demonstrated increased annual consumption, with the exception of Europe.

Asia experienced a 3.0% year-on year increase to become the world's number one in global market share, with China, Vietnam, and the Philippines making significant contributions to steady consumption growth.

While Romania and the Czech Republic demonstrated favorable consumption trends, leading countries such as Germany, United Kingdom and Spain all experienced declines in consumption, and Europe as a whole reported a decline in beer consumption for the first time in 10 years.

3.Per-Capita Consumption by Country (Table 3)

For the 16th consecutive year, the Czech Republic led all other nations in per-capita beer consumption. We noted significant per-capita declines in Ireland, United Kingdom, Belgium and other western European nations, with Poland and Romania being standouts in terms of European growth and rank advancement for per-capita consumption.

On a 633ml bottle basis, Japan experienced a per-capita decline of roughly 2.1 bottles compared to the prior year.

Note: Figures for Japan represent the total of beer, low-malt beer and new genre.

Note: Figures for the prior year (2007) represent the latest available, and may not correspond with our prior-year survey.

Source: Questionnaire Survey of each country's beer associations, etc. (conducted by Kirin Food and Culture Research Lab)
The World Beer Market: The 2009 Survey (ERC Group)
The Barth Report Hops 2008/2009 (BARTH-HAAS GROUP)

(Table 1)

2008 Beer Consumption by
Rank 2007 Rank Country 2008 2007
Total Consumption (10,000 kl) National Share
of Global Market
Change vs.
Prior Year
Total Consumption (10,000 kl) National Share
of Global Market
1 1 China 4,081.7 22.9% 4.3% 3,913.0 22.2%
2 2 U.S. 2,503.5 14.1% 0.5% 2,492.1 14.2%
3 3 Russia 1,091.0 6.1% 1.5% 1,074.9 6.1%
4 4 Brazil 1,004.5 5.6% -0.4% 1,008.6 5.7%
5 5 Germany 911.3 5.1% -0.8% 918.9 5.2%
6 6 Mexico 644.0 3.6% 1.0% 637.4 3.6%
7 7 Japan 611.1 3.4% -2.7% 628.0 3.6%
8 8 UK 512.8 2.9% -4.1% 534.7 3.0%
9 10 Poland 356.2 2.0% 1.7% 350.2 2.0%
10 9 Spain 342.3 1.9% -6.0% 364.1 2.1%
11 11 Ukraine 287.2 1.6% 0.9% 284.7 1.6%
12 13 South Africa 247.5 1.4% -2.0% 252.6 1.4%
13 12 Venezuela 243.3 1.4% -6.9% 261.3 1.5%
14 14 Canada 231.3 1.3% 1.1% 228.7 1.3%
15 18 Romania 202.0 1.1% 4.1% 194.0 1.1%
16 19 Vietnam 195.0 1.1% 2.9% 189.5 1.1%
17 20 Czech Republic 193.7 1.1% 2.6% 188.7 1.1%
18 15 Colombia 191.9 1.1% -5.0% 201.9 1.1%
19 16 France 186.6 1.0% -5.0% 196.4 1.1%
20 17 Thailand 183.5 1.0% -5.9% 195.0 1.1%
21 22 Australia 178.9 1.0% 1.3% 176.6 1.0%
22 21 Italy 177.7 1.0% -4.0% 185.1 1.1%
23 23 South Korea 175.5 1.0% 1.4% 173.0 1.0%
24 24 Argentina 161.9 0.9% 4.5% 154.9 0.9%
25 25 Philippines 140.0 0.8% 4.3% 134.2 0.8%

* Figures for Japan represent the total of beer, low-malt beer, and new genre.

Total Estimated Global Beer Consumption   2008: 178,064,000 kl (+1.2%)   2007: 175,915,000 kl

    [Comments]
  • Global beer consumption increased by 1.2%, despite the challenging economic environment. 2008 represented the 23rd consecutive year of growth. There were no changes in rankings among the top eight countries.
  • China surpassed 40 million kl in both beer production and consumption for the first time in 2008. While consumption growth appeared to slacken somewhat compared to the prior year (11.8% growth in 2007), the country still turned in a respectable 4.3% increase. The beer-drinking trend in China has increased with an expanding population and higher living standards tied to economic growth.
  • Russia had been experienced high growth rates in recent years, but only eked out 1.5% growth for 2008.
  • Japan maintained its spot in the rankings; however, consumption experienced a 2.7% annual decrease due to price increases (necessitated by higher raw materials prices), an aging population, and diversification in preferences.

(Table 2)

2008 Beer Consumption by Region
Region 2008 Consumption Volume
(10,000 kl)
633ml Bottle Equivalent (million) Change vs. Prior Year Regional Share of Global Market
Japan* 611.1 9,654 -2.7% 3.4%
Asia (other than Japan) 5,032.3 79,499 3.8% 28.3%
Asia Total 5,643.3 89,152 3.0% 31.7%
Europe 5,484.6 86,644 -0.8% 30.8%
North America 2,734.8 43,203 0.5% 15.4%
Latin America 2,724.6 43,042 0.8% 15.3%
Africa 887.0 14,013 5.7% 5.0%
Middle East 108.9 1,721 7.4% 0.6%
Oceania 223.2 3,526 1.4% 1.3%
World Total 17,806.4 281,301 1.2% 100.0%

* Figures for Japan represent the total of beer, low-malt beer, and new genre

2008 Beer Consumption by Region

    [Comments]
  • Europe experienced a slight decline compared to the prior year; however, other regions continued to grow.
  • With the contributions of China (2.9% increase), the Philippines (4.3% increase) and other countries, Asia grew 3.0% year-on-year. In addition to pushing total global consumption, Asia overtook Europe to become the largest beer-consumption region in the world.
  • While Romania (4.1% increase) and the Czech Republic (2.6% increase) made contributions, Russia, which had been growing at high annual rates recently, only grew 1.5% in beer consumption for 2008. Germany (0.8% decrease), United Kingdom (4.1% decrease) and Spain (6.0% decrease) represented some of the major countries that experienced declines, bringing Europe to a year-on-year decline for the first time in 10 years.
  • While overall beer consumption is low in the Middle East, the region grew at 7.4%--highest among all regions—with Turkey (30th; 7.5% increase) and Israel (82nd; 8.2% increase) making the most significant contributions in the area.

(Table 3)

2008 Per-Capita Beer Consumption by Country
Rank 2007 Rank Country Per Capita Total Consumption (10,000 kl)
Consumption (L) 633ml Bottle Equivalent Change vs.
Prior Year
Index
Japan = 1.0
1 1 Czech Republic 149.9 236.8 4.6 3.1 193.7
2 2 Ireland 124.8 197.2 -12.3 2.6 51.9
3 3 Germany 110.6 174.7 -1.5 2.3 911.3
4 4 Austria 109.5 173.0 2.1 2.3 91.5
5 7 Poland 92.5 146.1 2.5 1.9 356.2
6 5 Venezuela 92.1 145.5 -13.1 1.9 243.3
7 6 Estonia 91.2 144.1 -9.0 1.9 12.0
8 12 Romania 90.8 143.4 5.9 1.9 202.0
9 10 Finland 88.6 139.9 0.1 1.8 46.4
10 13 Slovenia 88.6 139.9 2.4 1.8 17.8
11 8 Lithuania 85.2 134.6 -7.7 1.8 30.4
12 16 Australia 85.1 134.4 0.0 1.8 178.9
13 9 Spain 84.5 133.5 -8.7 1.8 342.3
14 11 UK 83.5 131.9 -6.7 1.7 512.8
15 14 Croatia 83.3 131.6 -4.7 1.7 37.4
16 17 U.S. 82.3 130.0 -0.6 1.7 2,503.5
17 15 Belgium 82.0 129.5 -6.3 1.7 87.9
18 19 Slovakia 79.9 126.2 -2.1 1.7 43.6
19 18 Denmark 78.4 123.9 -5.7 1.6 43.0
20 21 Bulgaria 77.9 123.1 2.5 1.6 56.6
21 22 Holland 77.5 122.4 1.9 1.6 129.1
22 23 New Zealand 75.5 119.3 -0.1 1.6 31.5
23 24 Russia 75.5 119.3 0.0 1.6 1,091.0
24 20 Hungary 72.3 114.2 -8.1 1.5 71.8
25 25 Canada 69.6 110.0 0.3 1.5 231.3
26 27 Panama 68.5 108.2 9.5 1.4 22.7
27 26 Latvia 66.6 105.2 -1.7 1.4 15.0
28 28 Ukraine 62.4 98.6 1.4 1.3 287.2
29 30 Cyprus 62.2 98.3 5.5 1.3 4.9
30 31 Mexico 58.6 92.6 0.0 1.2 644.0
31 29 Portugal 58.1 91.8 -1.4 1.2 62.0
32 32 Switzerland 58.0 91.6 1.4 1.2 44.9
33 34 Norway 55.6 87.8 0.8 1.2 25.8
34 40 Angola 55.3 87.4 18.3 1.2 69.3
35 33 Brazil 54.0 85.3 -3.3 1.1 1,004.5
<<Reference>>
39 38 Japan 47.9 75.7 -2.1 1.0 611.1
54 55 China 29.0 45.8 2.1 0.6 4,081.7

* Figures for Japan represent the total of beer, low-malt beer, and new genre.