Last year, Czech breweries increased their production by 1.6 percent year on year to 21.6 million hectoliters, announced the Czech Beer and Malt Association on Wednesday.

Czech Republic’s beer production keeps growing, driven by interest abroad.

However, production will fall in 2020 due to coronavirus and government restrictive measures. According to Czech Beer and Malt Association, beer sales will fall by 40 percent year on year from March to the end of May.

During 2019, Czech beer consumption increased by two large beers per capita, reaching approximately 142 liters per capita. The amount of beer sold in restaurants and pubs fell by one percentage point to 35 percent.

Beer imports increased by 10.7 percent to 424 thousand hectoliters, mainly from Poland, Hungary, Germany, and from outside the European Union, Mexico, Serbia, and Vietnam.

“We are glad that Czech beer tastes good not only at home but also abroad. But we do not look to the future with too much optimism. Restaurants closed for more than two months, zero tourism will have a negative effect on the results of this year,” said the chairman of the Association František Šámal.

Exports have grown to Sweden and Hungary. Czech beer exports to countries outside the European Union increased by one fifth in 2019.

Among the new importers of Czech beer are Antarctica, Angola, Bahrain, the Bermuda Islands, Philippines, Senegal, and Ecuador.

Bottled beer had a 40 percent share, barrel beer had a share of 33 percent, for which the share decreased by 2 percent. Consumption of beer in plastic bottles was at 11 percent, a drop of 1 percent.

Czechs have long held the title of the largest beer drinkers in the world. A survey by Japanese brewer Kirin has the Czech Republic on top ever since it became an independent country. In the most recent survey, Namibia came in second, followed by Austria, Germany and Poland.

After two years of stagnating beer consumption in the Czech Republic, domestic consumer interest has gone up. Some 16.5 million hectoliters of beer were consumed in the Czech Republic last year, according to the Czech Brewery and Malt Association (ČSPS). 

Exports of beer in 2018 totaled 5.1 million hectoliters. The biggest markets were Slovakia, Germany, Poland, and Russia. 

Beer exports to EU countries in 2018 increased by 10 percent and currently amount to around 80 percent of overall exports. Czech beer exports to countries outside the European Union increased by one fifth in 2018. Russia increased its imports of Czech beer by 54 percent, mainly because of the World Championship in Football. 

Among the new importers of Czech beer are Antarctica, Angola, Bahrain, the Bermuda Islands, Philippines, Senegal and Ecuador. 

For the first year, the volume of beer in tanks and legs surpasses the amount of bottled and canned beer sold abroad.

On an international basis, the Czech Republic has the highest beer consumption per capita and has held that position for 25 years, as long as the independent Czech Republic has existed. Research by Japanese beer firm Kirin again confirmed the Czech leadership. 

Author: red