Germany: German beer exports still faring better than domestic consumption

Germany's famous beer brands appear to be losing popularity in other countries. However, exports are still faring better than domestic consumption, Deutsche Welle reported on April 22.

German beer exports are down 6% from the level registered 10 years ago, according to figures released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis).

The reduced exports go hand in hand with a much larger drop in beer consumption in Germany itself, which has fallen by 15.1% in the last ten years, Destatis said.

The statistics were made public ahead of German Beer Day, an annual event to be celebrated on April 23.

According to Destatis, 1.45 billion liters (3.83 million US gallons) of German beer were exported in 2024 as opposed to 1.54 billion liters in 2014.

More than half of the beer exported last year (55.7%) went to other EU member states, with 44.3% being sent to countries outside the bloc.

The drop in thirst for German beer was even more evident at home, with 6.8 billion litres sold in 2024 as compared with 8 billion litres in 2014.

The statistics show that exports now make up 17.6% of beer sales, up 1.5 percentage points from 2014.

Destatis gave no reasons for the sinking demand for beer, but alcohol consumption is going down in many countries, including Germany, possibly amid a growing consciousness of the negative health consequences of drinking.

Non-alcoholic beer has, however, been seeing a huge increase in sales in Germany as those of alcoholic beverages fall.

The number of breweries in Germany has nonetheless risen over the same 10-year period. Germany now has 1,459 breweries, an increase of 100 over 2014.

However, even this number is smaller than the 1,522 recorded in 2019.

German Beer Day is held every year on April 23, the day that the so-called "Reinheitsgebot" or Purity Law was adopted across the Duchy of Bavaria in 1516.

The law specified that beer was only allowed to contain water, barley and hops and was enacted partly to ensure that the purchase of wheat by breweries would not cause a rise in bread prices.

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