Beer Consumption in Czech Republic Hits Record Low: Economic Impact and Changing Trends

According to the union, the ongoing economic uncertainty and changes in consumer consumer behavior had a negative impact on per capita beer consumption and the share of sales in pubs and restaurants. .

According to data from the Czech Statistical Office, beer consumption last year was the lowest in a series of comparisons since 1989. At that time, it was 151 liters per person, and in the 1990s it jumped briefly above 160 liter.

Back in 2009, consumption per inhabitant was 153 liters of beer, then it stayed above 140 liters for almost ten years, until it dropped to 129 liters in 2021.

“Last year’s consumption of 128 liters was higher than even the lowest average values ​​since the covid restrictions,” the brewery association said in a press release.

Breweries in the Czech Republic produced about 20 million hectoliters of beer last year, which was 2.7 percent less year-on-year.

“For the fourth year already, the values ​​of the annual beer exhibition for the domestic market are lower than the level of 2010. Unfortunately, the recovery of sales last year was directly and indirectly hindered with the unfavorable economic situation. This trend continues to have a negative impact on pubs and restaurants, especially those in small towns,” said the union’s director, Tomáš Slunečko.

According to him, consumer habits are also changing, and they are increasingly going towards non-alcoholic beer or mixed drinks based on beer.

Total presentations of this sector last year amounted to 1.42 million hectoliters, which represents a year-on-year increase of 9.3 percent. Compared to 2019, this is an increase of more than a third.

After two years of growth, Czech beer exports abroad also decreased last year. Beer exports fell by 4.3 percent year-on-year to a total of 5.17 million hectoliters, which is largely in line with 2018 values. The most important export markets remain in Slovakia, Germany and Poland.

Czechs usually buy beer in glass bottles, which had a share of 40 percent of the total display last year. Even in relation to the sale of mixed beer and non-alcoholic beer, there is a growing interest in cans, which make up 20 percent of the total display. Barrels saw a slight decline last year, and that proportion fell below a third, which is related to a slower return of consumers to pubs and restaurants. Beer in PET bottles holds an eight percent share of the total display.