USA: Beer imports rise notably in July 2023

Beer imports into the United States rose notably to 458M litres in July 2023, growing by 6.7% on the previous month’s figure. In general, imports showed a relatively flat trend pattern. The pace of growth was the most pronounced in March 2023 when imports increased by 27% against the previous month. Imports peaked in July 2023, the Global Trade Magazine reported on October 2.

In value terms, beer imports rose remarkably to $673M (IndexBox estimates) in July 2023. Overall, imports saw a slight increase. The most prominent rate of growth was recorded in March 2023 when imports increased by 30% against the previous month. Over the period under review, imports reached the peak figure in July 2023.

In July 2023, Mexico (381M litres) constituted the largest beer supplier to the United States, accounting for a 83% share of total imports. Moreover, beer imports from Mexico exceeded the figures recorded by the second-largest supplier, the Netherlands (35M litres), more than tenfold. The third position in this ranking was held by Canada (12M litres), with a 2.5% share.

From July 2022 to July 2023, the average monthly rate of growth in terms of volume from Mexico stood at +1.1%. The remaining supplying countries recorded the following average monthly rates of imports growth: the Netherlands (-1.4% per month) and Canada (-0.7% per month).

In value terms, Mexico ($572M) constituted the largest supplier of beer to the United States, comprising 85% of total imports. The second position in the ranking was held by the Netherlands ($52M), with a 7.7% share of total imports. It was followed by Ireland, with a 1.7% share.

From July 2022 to July 2023, the average monthly growth rate of value from Mexico stood at +1.4%. The remaining supplying countries recorded the following average monthly rates of imports growth: the Netherlands (-2.0% per month) and Ireland (+0.9% per month).

In July 2023, the beer price stood at $1.5 per litre (CIF, US), standing approximately at the previous month. In general, the import price recorded a relatively flat trend pattern. The most prominent rate of growth was recorded in January 2023 when the average import price increased by 2.3% m-o-m. The import price peaked in July 2023.

Prices varied noticeably by the country of origin: the country with the highest price was Mexico ($1.5 per litre), while the price for Canada ($808 per thousand litres) was amongst the lowest.

From July 2022 to July 2023, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by Ireland (+1.1%), while the prices for the other major suppliers experienced more modest paces of growth.

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