From 2019 to 2020, the value of globally exported beer dropped -6.5%.
By value, the world’s biggest beer exporters (Mexico, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, United States) shipped over two-thirds (68.6%) of ale sold on international markets in 2020.
Among continents, European countries sold the highest dollar worth of exported beer on global markets during 2020 with shipments valued at $8.8 billion or 58.7% of the worldwide total. In second place were North American beer exporters at 33.5% trailed by Asian suppliers at 5.2%.
Smaller percentages came from Latin America (1.3%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Africa (1%) and Oceania (0.3%) led by New Zealand and Australia.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 2203 for beer made from malt.
Beer Exports by Country
Countries
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of beer during 2020.
- Mexico: US$4.3 billion (28.4% of total beer exports)
- Netherlands: $2.1 billion (14.1%)
- Belgium: $2 billion (13.3%)
- Germany: $1.3 billion (8.4%)
- United States: $645.6 million (4.3%)
- United Kingdom: $525.5 million (3.5%)
- France: $386.4 million (2.6%)
- Czech Republic: $297 million (2%)
- Ireland: $289.9 million (1.9%)
- Spain: $285.2 million (1.9%)
- Denmark: $255.8 million (1.7%)
- Italy: $254.5 million (1.7%)
- China: $242.8 million (1.6%)
- Poland: $239.1 million (1.6%)
- Portugal: $151.1 million (1%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 88.2% of global beer exported in 2020.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing beer exporters from 2019 to 2020 were: Spain (up 17.3%), Poland (up 15.8%), France (up 10.1%) and Netherlands (up 4.5%).
Those countries that posted declines in their exported beer sales were led by: United States (down -19.9%), United Kingdom (down -17.7%), Ireland (down -15.8%), Czech Republic (down -10.4%) and Denmark (down -7.3%).
Advantages
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for beer during 2020. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s exported beer and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Mexico: US$4.2 billion (net export surplus down -5.1% since 2019)
- Belgium: $1.8 billion (up 3.4%)
- Netherlands: $1.6 billion (up 5.3%)
- Germany: $806.8 million (down -2.6%)
- Czech Republic: $267.3 million (down -13%)
- Denmark: $196.8 million (down -3.9%)
- Poland: $161.4 million (up 21.8%)
- Portugal: $99.5 million (up 0.5%)
- Brazil: $77.5 million (up 109.4%)
- Thailand: $76.1 million (down -31%)
- Serbia: $35 million (down -10%)
- Namibia: $31.2 million (down -54.2%)
- Turkey: $28.7 million (down -16.1%)
- Vietnam: $27.5 million (down -54.9%)
- Jamaica: $25.6 million (up 4.3%)
Mexico generated the highest surplus in the international trade of beer. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms the strong Mexican competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Opportunities
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for beer during 2020. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s imported beer purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- United States: -US$5.3 billion (net export deficit up 5.6% since 2019)
- France: -$645.7 million (down -3%)
- China: -$452.3 million (down -19.9%)
- Canada: -$338.7 million (down -21.4%)
- Italy: -$293 million (down -30.6%)
- Russia: -$238.8 million (up 35.7%)
- Australia: -$238 million (down -21.7%)
- Taiwan: -$199.2 million (up 4.2%)
- Chile: -$162.2 million (down -26.6%)
- South Korea: -$158.4 million (up 17.4%)
- United Arab Emirates: -$146.7 million (up 95%)
- United Kingdom: -$143.5 million (up 463.6%)
- Switzerland: -$114.9 million (up 3%)
- Paraguay: -$114.7 million (down -13.9%)
- Sweden: -$99.1 million (up 24.5%)
The United States of America incurred the highest deficit in the international trade of beer. In turn, this negative cashflow highlights America’s competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for beer-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful demand.
Brands
Beer Exporting Brands
Below are global beer brands that represent established players engaged in the international trade of beer. The home country for each brand is shown within parenthesis.
- Beck’s (Germany)
- Corona (Mexico)
- Foster’s Lager (Australia)
- Genesee Cream Ale (United States)
- Guinness (United Kingdom)
- Kingfisher (India)
- Molson Canadian (Canada)
- Peroni (Italy)
- Starobrno (Czech Republic)
- Stella Artois (Belgium)
Searchable List of Beer Exporting Countries in 2020
By value, the key 100 exporters of beer showcased in the following database account for 99.96% of all brew shipped during 2020.
| Rank | Exporter | Beer Exports (US$) | 2019-20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mexico | $4,252,177,000 | -6.4% |
| 2. | Netherlands | $2,106,779,000 | +4.5% |
| 3. | Belgium | $1,986,612,000 | +1.7% |
| 4. | Germany | $1,261,387,000 | -6.6% |
| 5. | United States | $645,563,000 | -19.9% |
| 6. | United Kingdom | $525,541,000 | -17.7% |
| 7. | France | $386,380,000 | +10.1% |
| 8. | Czech Republic | $297,027,000 | -10.4% |
| 9. | Ireland | $289,884,000 | -15.8% |
| 10. | Spain | $285,205,000 | +17.3% |
| 11. | Denmark | $255,759,000 | -7.3% |
| 12. | Italy | $254,474,000 | +0.2% |
| 13. | China | $242,754,000 | -4.9% |
| 14. | Poland | $239,111,000 | +15.8% |
| 15. | Portugal | $151,108,000 | +2.6% |
| 16. | Russia | $130,500,000 | -11.8% |
| 17. | Canada | $103,097,000 | -10.9% |
| 18. | Brazil | $92,781,000 | +16.5% |
| 19. | Thailand | $92,420,000 | -27.4% |
| 20. | Singapore | $86,426,000 | -32.3% |
| 21. | South Korea | $68,530,000 | -53% |
| 22. | Austria | $63,856,000 | -22.3% |
| 23. | Lithuania | $62,367,000 | +10% |
| 24. | South Africa | $60,569,000 | -34.5% |
| 25. | Vietnam | $59,651,000 | -22.5% |
| 26. | Serbia | $55,601,000 | -4.6% |
| 27. | Japan | $54,085,000 | -35.7% |
| 28. | Slovenia | $50,924,000 | +21.1% |
| 29. | Ukraine | $44,949,000 | +16.4% |
| 30. | Turkey | $40,930,000 | -13.1% |
| 31. | Estonia | $35,981,000 | -6.1% |
| 32. | Namibia | $35,792,000 | -59.8% |
| 33. | Hong Kong | $33,749,000 | -6.1% |
| 34. | Malaysia | $33,095,000 | -46.2% |
| 35. | Sweden | $32,626,000 | -39.2% |
| 36. | Greece | $32,244,000 | +36.7% |
| 37. | Latvia | $30,772,000 | +25.4% |
| 38. | India | $27,812,000 | -30.5% |
| 39. | Croatia | $27,276,000 | -19.2% |
| 40. | Romania | $27,176,000 | +15.6% |
| 41. | New Zealand | $27,010,000 | -4.8% |
| 42. | Jamaica | $25,790,000 | +2.8% |
| 43. | Uganda | $24,382,000 | +11.8% |
| 44. | Bulgaria | $22,820,000 | +0.2% |
| 45. | Belarus | $21,974,000 | -33.8% |
| 46. | Australia | $21,344,000 | -23.7% |
| 47. | Hungary | $19,548,000 | +24.7% |
| 48. | Slovakia | $17,697,000 | +222.8% |
| 49. | Luxembourg | $15,460,000 | -27.7% |
| 50. | Peru | $15,270,000 | -30.2% |
| 51. | Belize | $10,885,000 | +461.4% |
| 52. | Guatemala | $10,622,000 | -47% |
| 53. | Argentina | $10,439,000 | -57.9% |
| 54. | Finland | $10,051,000 | -28.3% |
| 55. | Kazakhstan | $9,570,000 | +32% |
| 56. | Norway | $8,375,000 | -9.1% |
| 57. | Indonesia | $6,607,000 | -14.4% |
| 58. | Taiwan | $6,148,000 | -6.8% |
| 59. | Costa Rica | $5,429,000 | +35.6% |
| 60. | Dominican Republic | $5,396,000 | -69.7% |
| 61. | Trinidad/Tobago | $5,196,000 | -37.7% |
| 62. | Morocco | $4,890,000 | +13.4% |
| 63. | Nigeria | $4,255,000 | -22.3% |
| 64. | Saint Lucia | $3,884,000 | -67.1% |
| 65. | Georgia | $3,750,000 | +104.7% |
| 66. | Sri Lanka | $3,719,000 | -7.9% |
| 67. | Montenegro | $3,651,000 | +0.1% |
| 68. | El Salvador | $3,605,000 | -41.8% |
| 69. | Iceland | $3,316,000 | +17.5% |
| 70. | North Macedonia | $3,198,000 | -7.3% |
| 71. | Kenya | $3,088,000 | -82.5% |
| 72. | Egypt | $2,856,000 | -6.9% |
| 73. | Switzerland | $2,543,000 | -6.2% |
| 74. | Myanmar | $2,365,000 | +15.5% |
| 75. | Laos | $2,309,000 | -69.3% |
| 76. | Nicaragua | $2,278,000 | -25.5% |
| 77. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $1,957,000 | -7.5% |
| 78. | Philippines | $1,712,000 | -1.8% |
| 79. | Colombia | $1,615,000 | -19.5% |
| 80. | Mauritius | $1,605,000 | -5.4% |
| 81. | Honduras | $1,499,000 | +235.3% |
| 82. | Moldova | $1,447,000 | -24.9% |
| 83. | Ethiopia | $1,440,000 | -20.1% |
| 84. | Uruguay | $1,436,000 | -53.9% |
| 85. | Cyprus | $1,350,000 | -11.9% |
| 86. | United Arab Emirates | $1,279,000 | -93.4% |
| 87. | Suriname | $1,241,000 | +493.8% |
| 88. | Samoa | $1,174,000 | -33.7% |
| 89. | Malta | $1,148,000 | -26.7% |
| 90. | Bhutan | $1,137,000 | +57.5% |
| 91. | Cambodia | $1,118,000 | -26.5% |
| 92. | Tunisia | $1,067,000 | -36.4% |
| 93. | Israel | $1,038,000 | -24.2% |
| 94. | Ecuador | $999,000 | +319.7% |
| 95. | Armenia | $896,000 | -29.3% |
| 96. | Lebanon | $856,000 | -74.6% |
| 97. | Mozambique | $850,000 | +258.6% |
| 98. | Chile | $767,000 | -27.8% |
| 99. | St Kitts/Nevis | $601,000 | -70.7% |
| 100. | Paraguay | $478,000 | +419.6% |
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of the columns. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means no 2019 data was available.
See also Beer Imports by Country, Wine Exports by Country and Top Soft Drinks Exporters by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on June 28, 2021
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on June 28, 2021
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 28, 2021
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 28, 2021
Wikipedia, Category:Beer brands by country. Accessed on June 28, 2021
