Global Beer Consumption

Some interesting statistics can be found in Saturday's Fairfax business press. It's a map of the world showing 15 of the largest beer consuming nations in the world.

	Litres per head, 2009
Czech	142.3
Ireland	114.7
Germany	109.1
Austria	106.5
Venezuela	88.2
Australia	87.9
Spain	81.9
US	79.8
UK	75.8
New Zealand	72.7
Russia	70.5
Brazil	59
Mexico	57.6
Japan	46.9
China	30.2

When multiplying out by population size, China is the biggest market in volume, consuming 23.8% of the world's beer production.... and that's with only 30 litres per head per annum.

Any crafty beer marketer would recognise the potential here. One hurdle, however, is the competition of fine wine and spirits. The fast-growing Chinese middle class is taking a keen interest in quality global commodities, and good liquor is up there as strong symbol of prosperity.

Beer's challenge is to rate up there alongside wine, whisky and brandy. This is a tough challenge; even in the established Western markets, beer is having a long and difficult fight in changing its image as the everyman's drink into a more premium offering.

Beyond China, the most interesting entry on the list is Venezuela. The brewing landscape is quite small in Venezuela, although it's a very popular and accessible drink. It's leading brand, Empresas Polar, commands 77% volume share (http://www.euromonitor.com/beer-in-venezuela/report), which at 68 litres per Venezuelan, is more than the total per capita beer consumption of Brazil.

No wonder that the country's president, Hugo Chavez, sees the Forbes Rich-Listed president of Empresas Polar, Lorenzo Mendoza, as a particular threat (http://www.mutineermagazine.com/blog/2010/06/chavez-delcares-economic-war-on-venezuelan-beer-tycoon/)