August 8, 2012

Kirin Institute of Food and Lifestyle Report Vol. 36
Global Beer Production by Country in 2011

Global Beer Production Reaches Record High in 2011, Helped by Continued Growth in Asia and Latin America

Kirin Institute of Food and Lifestyle—a research arm of Kirin Holdings Company, Ltd. (President and CEO: Senji Miyake)—today published a report on global beer production by region and by country for 2011. This report is based on findings from questionnaires sent to brewers associations around the world as well as on the latest industry statistics available overseas. Kirin has been tracking global beer production since 1974.

Summary of Report

Global beer production reached 192.71 million kiloliters in 2011, up 3.7% from 2010, marking its 27th consecutive year of growth.

Asia, where beer production in 2011 jumped 8.6% year-on-year, remained the largest beer-producing region in the world for the third year in a row, capturing a 34.5% share of global production. Latin America, which produced 3.1% more beer in 2011 than in 2010, came in as the third-largest beer-producing region with a 16.5% production share in the global market. These two regions were the driving force behind the growth seen in global beer production in 2011.

China produced 10.7% more beer in 2011 than in 2010, and remained the world's largest beer producer for 10 consecutive years. The United States, where annual beer production dropped 1.5%, came in second, and Brazil, where beer production increased by 3.4%, took third place. Japan remained at seventh place, producing 3.8% less beer than the previous year.

In 2011, global beer production reached 192.71 million kiloliters, an increase of 6.94 million kiloliters, or 3.7%, from 2010, recording the 27th consecutive annual increase since 1985.

The annual growth rate of 3.7% seen in 2011 was higher than the modest growth of 0.7% recorded in 2008 and 0.9% in 2009. This is an indication that the global beer market is showing a sign of rebound from a slowdown caused by the global financial crisis that had spanned from 2008 to 2009.

1. Global Beer Production by Region in 2011 (Table 1)

All regions, except North America, recorded a year-on-year increase in beer production in 2011.

Asia, where the volume of beer production in 2011 jumped 8.6% from its year-earlier level, remained the largest beer-producing region in the world for the third year in a row. China, India, and Vietnam enjoyed robust year-on-year increases of 10.7%, 18.6%, and 4.9%, respectively, driving the growth in overall beer production in Asia for the year.

Latin America, where annual beer production increased for nine consecutive years, was the third-largest beer-producing region in the world in 2011. Its annual growth of 3.1% in beer production in 2011 was driven mainly by Brazil—which achieved a 3.4% year-on-year increase—as it had been in 2010.

In North America, beer production dropped 1.5% year-on-year in 2011, marking its fourth consecutive year of decline.

In Africa, year-on-year growth seen in the region's major beer-producing countries—4.3% in South Africa and 11.3% in Nigeria—helped the region achieve a 7.5% annual increase in beer production in 2011, which was the 11th consecutive annual increase.

2. Global Beer Production by Country in 2011 (Table 2)

Brazil, after having achieved an impressive 18.2% year-on-year increase in beer production in 2010, recorded a 3.4% increase in 2011 and remained the world's third-largest beer producer for two years in a row. Brazil widened its lead over Russia, which recorded a 4.2% year-on-year drop in beer production and came in fourth place.

The countries that had made the list of the world's 10 largest beer producers for 2010 remained on the list for 2011 with the ranking order unchanged. China produced 10.7% more beer in 2011 than in 2010, and kept the title of the world's largest beer producer for the 10th year in a row. Japan came in seventh place in 2011; its annual beer production dropped 3.8%, reflecting the disruption in beer production in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011 and weak demand for beer among consumers who remained in a belt-tightening mode.

3. Global Beer Production in 2011 Compared with 2001 (Table 3)

The volume of global beer production in 2011 was 50.61 million kiloliters, or 35.6%, more than in 2001.

Among the countries that made the list of the world's 10 largest beer producers for 2011, beer production more than doubled (up 118.0%) in China from 2001 to 2011. Beer production also achieved a substantial increase in Brazil (up 56.2%), Russia (up 56.5%), and Poland (up 56.8%) in this period.

• Note: Production volume in Japan is a combination of beer, low-malt beer, and no-malt beer.
• Source: Questionnaires sent by the Kirin Institute of Food and Lifestyle to brewers associations in major countries; The Barth Report Hops 2010/2011 published by the BARTH-HAAS GROUP

Table 1: Global Beer Production by Region in 2011

Beer Production, Year-on-Year Change, and Production Share by Region

Global Beer Production by Region (%) in 2011

Comments:

• All regions except North America recorded a year-on-year increase in beer production in 2011.
• Asia, where the volume of beer production in 2011 jumped 8.6% from its year-earlier level, remained the largest beer-producing region in the world for the third year in a row. China, India, and Vietnam enjoyed robust year-on-year increases of 10.7%, 18.6%, and 4.9%, respectively, driving the growth in overall beer production in Asia for the year. Asia increased its share of global beer production by 1.2 percentage points to 34.5% in 2011 compared with the previous year.
• In Latin America, annual beer production increased for nine consecutive years.
• Beer production in Europe returned to growth, albeit at a modest rate of 0.2%, in 2011, after having recorded a year-on-year drop in the previous year.

Table 2: Global Beer Production by Country in 2011

Comments:

• Beer production in Brazil maintained its growth momentum in 2011, achieving 3.4% growth from 2010, which had seen an impressive 18.2% year-on-year increase. Robust economic growth and the resulting increase in personal income drove beer production in the country.
• China increased its share of global beer production by 1.2 percentage points to 25.4% in 2011, surpassing the 25% mark for the first time. China was the world's largest beer producer in 2011—a position it has held for the past 10 years.
• Beer production in the United States dropped 1.5% year-on-year, affected partly by economic uncertainty and a high unemployment rate.
• Beer production in Russia continued to drop, mainly because of the tax increase that went into effect in 2010.
• Japan came in seventh place in 2011 as it had in 2010; its annual beer production decreased by 3.8%, reflecting the disruption in beer production in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011and weak demand for beer among consumers who remained in a belt-tightening mode.

Table 3: Global Beer Production by Country in 2011 Compared with 2001

Comments:

• The volume of global beer production in 2011 was 50.61 million kiloliters, or 35.6%, more than in 2001. The largest growth came from China, where beer production has increased by 26.52 million kiloliters during the past decade, followed by Brazil (an increase of 4.75 million kiloliters) and Russia (an increase of 3.54 million kiloliters).