Vietnam: Beer production estimated to have increased by 22.9% last year

In 2019, Vietnam’s total beer production is estimated to have reached more than five billion litres (up 22.9 percent over the same period in 2018); consumption reached over four billion litres (up 29.1 percent over the same period last year), Vietnam Plus reported on June 1.

Beer sales reached over 65 billion VND (up 0.5 percent over the same period last year). Regarding types of consumption, canned beer consumption accounted for 66.8 percent of total beer consumption in Vietnam, followed by bottled beer 29.9 percent; while draft beer is 3.1 percent and accounts for a modest market share of fresh beer at 0.1 percent.

Regarding imports, the imported beer output reached more than 37 million litres (an increase of 8.9 percent compared to the same period in 2018). The three main sources of beer supply in Vietnam are the Netherlands (25 percent), Mexico (17 percent) and Belgium (16 percent). Compared to beer consumption in Vietnam, beer imports into the country account for a relatively small proportion. Domestic and FDI beer enterprises dominate the domestic market, with the advantage of cheap beer prices, which suits the taste of the majority of customers.

As for exports, the export beer output increased 46 million litres over the previous year, reaching 45.87 million USD. The export volume decreased by about 7 percent over the same period. The main reason is that Vietnam’s beer quality has not been highly appreciated and not created a brand in the international market. Equatorial Guinea (about 20 percent) is the largest market for Vietnamese beer.