Total beer production in the EU reached 34.7bn litres in 2024, including 2bn litres of no- and low-alcohol beer, according to recent data.
New figures from Eurostat show that full-strength beer (above 0.5% ABV) rose 0.6% year-on-year to 32.7bn litres, while no- and low-alcohol volumes increased by 11.1%, or 0.2bn litres. Germany remained the EU’s top beer producer with 7.2bn litres, accounting for 22.2% of the total.
It was followed by Spain (4.0bn litres), Poland (3.4bn litres), the Netherlands (2.2bn litres), and Belgium (2.1bn litres).
The Netherlands also held its position as the leading EU exporter of beer with alcohol at 1.5bn litres, despite a 12% year-on-year drop. Germany and Belgium followed with 1.4bn litres each, ahead of Czechia (0.6bn litres) and Ireland (0.5bn litres).
France led beer imports again in 2024, with 0.8bn litres of full-strength beer brought in. Italy followed with more than 0.7bn litres, while Spain and Germany each imported close to 0.6bn litres, ahead of the Netherlands with just under 0.5bn litres.
Earlier this year, The World Brewing Alliance (WBA) revealed that the beer industry delivered US$878bn to the global gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023, representing 0.8% of the total figure.
