From 2019 to 2020, globally imported beer fell in value by -5.6%.
The 5 biggest buyers (United States, France, China, United Kingdom, Italy) bought 57% worth of the beer imported during 2020.
From a continental perspective, countries in North America accounted for the highest dollar worth of imported beer during 2020 with purchases costing $6.5 billion or 41.2% of the global total. In second place were European importers at 37% while 12% of beer imported worldwide was delivered to customers in Asia.
Smaller percentages arrived in Latin America (5%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Africa (2.6%) and Oceania (2.1%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 2203 for beer.
Beer Imports by Country
Top 15
Below are the 15 countries that spent the most on imported beer during 2020.
- United States: US$6 billion (38.2% of total imported beer)
- France: $1 billion (6.6%)
- China: $695.1 million (4.4%)
- United Kingdom: $669.1 million (4.3%)
- Italy: $547.5 million (3.5%)
- Netherlands: $469.6 million (3%)
- Germany: $454.5 million (2.9%)
- Canada: $441.8 million (2.8%)
- Russia: $369.3 million (2.4%)
- Spain: $340.4 million (2.2%)
- Ireland: $289.5 million (1.9%)
- Australia: $259.3 million (1.7%)
- South Korea: $226.9 million (1.5%)
- Taiwan: $205.3 million (1.3%)
- Belgium: $173.3 million (1.1%)
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing markets for beer since 2019 were: Ireland (up 30.9%), Russia (up 14%), Taiwan (up 3.9%) and Spain (up 2.7%).
Those countries that posted declines in their imported beer purchases were led by: Australia (down -21.8%), South Korea (down -19.2%), Canada (down -19.2%) and Italy (down -19%).
By value, the listed 15 countries purchased 77.7% of all beer imported in 2020.
US
Beer Imported into the United States
America’s global purchases of imported beer totaled US$6 billion in 2020. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which the US imported the highest dollar value worth of beer during 2020. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2019 to 2020.
- Mexico: US$4.2 billion (up 4.9% from 2019)
- Netherlands: $860 million (up 11.9%)
- Belgium: $363.9 million (down -9.9%)
- Ireland: $172.8 million (down -21.7%)
- Canada: $105.4 million (down -9%)
- Germany: $77.2 million (down -18.7%)
- Italy: $26.6 million (down -8.7%)
- Jamaica: $19.7 million (down -2.2%)
- United Kingdom: $14.9 million (down -29.3%)
- Poland: $10.6 million (down -11.3%)
- Czech Republic: $9 million (up 5.2%)
- Vietnam: $8.5 million (down -27.9%)
- Austria: $6.1 million (down -2.6%)
- Guatemala: $5.3 million (up 16.6%)
- Japan: $5 million (down -40%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 99.3% of beer imported by United States in 2020.
Among the above countries, four grew their sales of beer to the United States from 2019 to 2020 namely: Guatemala (up 16.6%), Netherlands (up 11.9%), Czech Republic (up 5.2%) and Mexico (up 4.9%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their beer supplied to American importers included: Japan (down -40%), United Kingdom (down -29.3%), Vietnam (down -27.9%) and Ireland (down -21.7%).
Overall, the value of America’s imported beer rose by an average 2.1% from all supplying countries from 2019 to 2020 when beer purchased cost $5.9 billion.
France
Beer Imported into France
France’s global purchases of imported beer totaled US$1.03 billion in 2020. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which France imported the highest dollar value worth of beer during 2020. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2019 to 2020.
- Belgium: US$681.8 million (up 9.8% from 2019)
- Netherlands: $167.9 million (up 9.9%)
- Germany: $47.9 million (down -24.2%)
- United Kingdom: $32 million (down -32.3%)
- Portugal: $20.7 million (down -25.5%)
- Ireland: $18.6 million (down -6.1%)
- Poland: $11.8 million (up 52.4%)
- Italy: $7.8 million (down -28.8%)
- United States: $6.4 million (down -9.9%)
- Spain: $4.8 million (down -11.3%)
- Mexico: $4 million (down -80.3%)
- China: $3.5 million (down -45.7%)
- Denmark: $3 million (down -25.6%)
- Luxembourg: $1.6 million (down -22.9%)
- Sweden: $1.5 million (down -3.1%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 98.2% of beer imported by France in 2020.
Among the above countries, three suppliers grew their sales of beer to France from 2019 to 2020 namely: Poland (up 52.4%), Netherlands (up 9.9%) and Belgium (up 9.8%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their beer supplied to French importers included: Mexico (down -80.3%), China (down -45.7%), United Kingdom (down -32.3%) and Italy (down -28.8%).
Overall, the value of France’s imported beer increased by an average 1.5% from all supplying countries from 2019 to 2020 when beer purchased cost $1.02 billion.
China
Beer Imported into China
China’s global purchases of imported beer totaled US$695.1 million in 2020. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which China imported the highest dollar value worth of beer during 2020. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2019 to 2020.
- Germany: US$141.9 million (down -11.2% from 2019)
- Belgium: $115.8 million (up 9.4%)
- Mexico: $77.8 million (down -51.3%)
- France: $66.1 million (up 14.4%)
- Netherlands: $55.2 million (up 46.8%)
- Spain: $39.6 million (down -2.4%)
- South Korea: $28 million (down -66.5%)
- United Kingdom: $27.4 million (down -44.6%)
- Poland: $21.6 million (up 489.9%)
- Russia: $17.5 million (down -43.5%)
- Portugal: $15.8 million (down -37.7%)
- United States: $13 million (down -16.6%)
- Japan: $10.6 million (up 103.2%)
- Italy: $9.3 million (up 45.5%)
- Singapore: $7.9 million (up 477.2%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 93.2% of beer imported by China in 2020.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of beer to China from 2019 to 2020 were: Poland (up 489.9%), Singapore (up 477.2%), Japan (up 103.2%) and Netherlands (up 46.8%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their beer supplied to Chinese importers included: South Korea (down -66.5%), Mexico (down -51.3%), United Kingdom (down -44.6%) and Russia (down -43.5%).
Overall, the value of China’s imported beer fell by an average -15.2% from all supplying countries from 2019 to 2020 when beer purchased cost $820 million.
UK
Beer Imported into the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom’s global purchases of imported beer totaled US$669.1 million in 2020. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which the UK imported the highest dollar value worth of beer during 2020. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2019 to 2020.
- Ireland: US$121.5 million (down -7.4% from 2019)
- Netherlands: $109.3 million (up 57.5%)
- Italy: $84 million (up 26.4%)
- Mexico: $73.8 million (down -46.4%)
- Spain: $62.9 million (up 10.9%)
- Germany: $57.2 million (up 21.2%)
- France: $50 million (down -3%)
- Belgium: $45.1 million (up 74.1%)
- United States: $14.9 million (down -31.2%)
- Czech Republic: $11.3 million (down -13.8%)
- Nigeria: $4.5 million (up 2.9%)
- Poland: $4.5 million (up 1.8%)
- Portugal: $3.9 million (down -14.2%)
- Thailand: $3.6 million (down -15.3%)
- Turkey: $3.1 million (up 119.6%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 86% of beer imported by United Kingdom in 2020.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of beer to United Kingdom from 2019 to 2020 were: Turkey (up 119.6%), Belgium (up 74.1%), Netherlands (up 57.5%) and Italy (up 26.4%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their beer supplied to UK importers included: Mexico (down -46.4%), United States (down -31.2%), Thailand (down -15.3%) and Portugal (down -14.2%).
Overall, the value of United Kingdom’s imported beer went up by an average 0.7% from all supplying countries from 2019 to 2020 when beer purchased cost $664.3 million.
Searchable List of Beer Importer Countries in 2020
The 100 major importers of ale from international markets accounted for 98.7% of beer imported worldwide during 2020.
| Rank | Importer | Beer Imports (US$) | 2019-20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | United States | $5,977,473,000 | +2.1% |
| 2. | France | $1,032,129,000 | +1.5% |
| 3. | China | $695,086,000 | -15.2% |
| 4. | United Kingdom | $669,073,000 | +0.7% |
| 5. | Italy | $547,494,000 | -19% |
| 6. | Netherlands | $469,585,000 | +1.7% |
| 7. | Germany | $454,540,000 | -13% |
| 8. | Canada | $441,772,000 | -19.2% |
| 9. | Russia | $369,283,000 | +14% |
| 10. | Spain | $340,436,000 | +2.7% |
| 11. | Ireland | $289,522,000 | +30.9% |
| 12. | Australia | $259,308,000 | -21.8% |
| 13. | South Korea | $226,920,000 | -19.2% |
| 14. | Taiwan | $205,322,000 | +3.9% |
| 15. | Belgium | $173,275,000 | -13.2% |
| 16. | Chile | $162,920,000 | -26.6% |
| 17. | United Arab Emirates | $147,955,000 | +56.3% |
| 18. | Sweden | $131,695,000 | -1.2% |
| 19. | Switzerland | $117,414,000 | +2.8% |
| 20. | Paraguay | $115,213,000 | -13.6% |
| 21. | Hong Kong | $115,037,000 | -3% |
| 22. | Singapore | $112,690,000 | -22.9% |
| 23. | South Africa | $112,333,000 | -53.7% |
| 24. | Slovakia | $87,377,000 | +10.6% |
| 25. | Hungary | $77,804,000 | +1.5% |
| 26. | Poland | $77,740,000 | +5% |
| 27. | Honduras | $76,027,000 | +28.1% |
| 28. | Israel | $71,355,000 | +15.2% |
| 29. | Guatemala | $67,723,000 | -20.4% |
| 30. | Ukraine | $67,112,000 | +17.4% |
| 31. | New Zealand | $62,965,000 | -11.6% |
| 32. | Austria | $61,754,000 | -33.7% |
| 33. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $60,867,000 | -6.6% |
| 34. | Denmark | $58,972,000 | -17.2% |
| 35. | Japan | $58,713,000 | -11.1% |
| 36. | Latvia | $54,399,000 | -5.2% |
| 37. | Bulgaria | $53,749,000 | +0.3% |
| 38. | Croatia | $52,663,000 | -0.2% |
| 39. | Portugal | $51,605,000 | +6.9% |
| 40. | Panama | $50,742,000 | -15.6% |
| 41. | Belarus | $50,536,000 | -16.3% |
| 42. | Norway | $50,221,000 | -1% |
| 43. | Romania | $48,627,000 | +26.8% |
| 44. | Luxembourg | $41,908,000 | -8.9% |
| 45. | Finland | $40,082,000 | -13% |
| 46. | Lithuania | $39,110,000 | +10.2% |
| 47. | Botswana | $36,506,000 | -19.8% |
| 48. | Iraq | $32,779,000 | -22% |
| 49. | Vietnam | $32,153,000 | +102% |
| 50. | Mexico | $30,875,000 | -66.8% |
| 51. | Equatorial Guinea | $30,014,000 | -11% |
| 52. | Slovenia | $29,886,000 | -1.2% |
| 53. | Czech Republic | $29,763,000 | +22% |
| 54. | Cuba | $28,529,000 | -24% |
| 55. | Malaysia | $26,870,000 | -4.5% |
| 56. | Peru | $25,992,000 | +9.2% |
| 57. | Kazakhstan | $25,728,000 | -32.1% |
| 58. | Greece | $25,607,000 | -26.6% |
| 59. | Colombia | $24,950,000 | -64.8% |
| 60. | Argentina | $24,829,000 | -16.6% |
| 61. | Costa Rica | $24,196,000 | +53.4% |
| 62. | Burkina Faso | $22,333,000 | 26.2 |
| 63. | Zambia | $22,151,000 | -26.1% |
| 64. | Uruguay | $21,964,000 | +8.4% |
| 65. | Estonia | $20,978,000 | -4.8% |
| 66. | Serbia | $20,608,000 | +6.1% |
| 67. | Macao | $18,392,000 | -20.4% |
| 68. | Albania | $18,341,000 | -4% |
| 69. | Thailand | $16,320,000 | -3.8% |
| 70. | Mozambique | $15,824,000 | -45.8% |
| 71. | El Salvador | $15,430,000 | -20.9% |
| 72. | Brazil | $15,263,000 | -64.2% |
| 73. | Bolivia, Plurinational State | $15,048,000 | +27.8% |
| 74. | Dominican Republic | $14,691,000 | -46.6% |
| 75. | Moldova | $14,115,000 | +3.2% |
| 76. | Andorra | $13,338,000 | -16% |
| 77. | Senegal | $12,809,000 | +5.7% |
| 78. | Curaçao | $12,705,000 | -36.9% |
| 79. | Turkey | $12,274,000 | -5.3% |
| 80. | Belize | $12,251,000 | +104% |
| 81. | Bahrain | $12,086,000 | -48.1% |
| 82. | South Sudan | $11,987,000 | +3.4% |
| 83. | Cambodia | $10,715,000 | -58.9% |
| 84. | Cyprus | $10,422,000 | -24.8% |
| 85. | Uganda | $10,260,000 | +22.2% |
| 86. | Iceland | $9,744,000 | +6.6% |
| 87. | Ecuador | $9,715,000 | -36.7% |
| 88. | Morocco | $9,117,000 | -6.3% |
| 89. | Guinea | $9,077,000 | -8.7% |
| 90. | Montenegro | $8,982,000 | -11.7% |
| 91. | Oman | $8,669,000 | -40.6% |
| 92. | Ghana | $8,449,000 | +216.9% |
| 93. | Ivory Coast | $7,844,000 | -17.3% |
| 94. | Cabo Verde | $7,546,000 | -28.8% |
| 95. | Lesotho | $7,526,000 | -40.7% |
| 96. | Guinea-Bissau | $7,334,000 | -8.6% |
| 97. | Malta | $7,107,000 | -28.5% |
| 98. | Aruba | $7,024,000 | -37.4% |
| 99. | Tanzania | $6,806,000 | -11.3% |
| 100. | Bahamas | $6,689,000 | -36.8% |
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns above. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that 2020 data was unavailable.
See also Beer Exports by Country, America’s Top Trading Partners and France’s Top 10 Imports
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
