Global beer consumption increased to 182.69 million kiloliters in 2010, up 2.4% from 2009, new research shows; China No. 1 beer consumer for eighth straight year

Nevin Barich

LOS ANGELES , December 22, 2011 (Industry Intelligence) – Global beer consumption increased to 182.69 million kiloliters (kl) in 2010, a record for the 25th straight year and a 2.4% increase over 2009, according to Kirin Holdings research, Mainichi reported on Dec. 22.

China ranked No. 1 for beer consumption for the eighth straight year. The Chinese drank 44.68 million kl in 2010, a 5.9% increase over 2009. Despite a 1.4% decrease in beer consumption, the U.S. ranked No. 2 worldwide, consuming 24.14 million kl of beer.

Emerging markets contributed significantly to the increase in worldwide beer consumption. Brazil, India, Nigeria and Vietnam increased beer consumption by 16.0%, 17.0%, 17.2% and 15.0%, respectively.

Japan reduced its beer drinking by 2.8% in 2010. Japanese per-capita beer consumption was 45.4 liters, a No. 1 ranking in Asia but a No. 38 ranking worldwide.

Asia drank 33.6% of the world’s beer, retaining its ranking as the top beer-drinking region, consuming 61.41 million kl, a 5.3% increase. Other regions that consumed a large percentage of the world's beer were Latin America (27.7%), North America (16.2%) and Africa (6.1%).

The beer consumption in Europe, North America and Oceana decreased.

The primary source of this article is Mainichi, Tokyo, Japan, on Dec. 22, 2011.

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