Belgium: Belgium’s main beer shipments go to France, Spain and the Netherlands last year
Latest figures show that almost three-quarters (73%) of beer produced in Belgium was exported last year, namely to France, Spain and the Netherlands, the Brussels Times reported on June 22.
The findings show that France and Spain combined outdrank Belgium, at 6.7 million hectolitres and 6.451 million hectolitres respectively.
The AB InBev brewery group, which owns brands such as Corona, Leffe and Stella Artois, is given much of the credit for the good performance of Belgian beer exports. Stella Artois, whose origins can be traced back to Leuven in 1366, is served in 95 countries and has won the 2019 World Beer Award for World’s Best International Lager.
France remained the main export market, accounting for 5.2 million hectolitres of Belgian beer. This a 2.5% increase on 2020 figures. The Netherlands saw an even larger increase of more than 20% since 2020.
While the United States remains the leading non-EU consumer of Belgian beer, the US market accounted for just over 1 million hectolitres, a significant drop compared to nearly 2 million in 2020.
“Covid-19 sanitary measures are part of the reason for this reduction, as well as growing popularity for local beers (in the US) and the fact that large breweries are choosing to brew beer for the non-European market more locally,” Krishan Maudgal, director of Brasseurs Belges, explained.
Lighter beers from AB InBev have proven to be more popular in the States. Brews like Bud Lite, Miller Lite and Coors Light have outsold European brands.
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