In 2002, China overtook the United States and became the world's largest beer producer. In 2020, there was a minimum production level for 2017-2021 (34.11 million tons), due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of 2021, the volume of production began to recover and amounted to 35.62 million tons, which is 4.4% higher than in 2020.
Beer consumption in the country has been at the level of 44-46 million tons in recent years, with the exception of 2020, when it decreased to 42.23 million tons due to the closure of catering enterprises, however, sales growth in the retail channel and the e-commerce channel allowed to mitigate the decline somewhat.
In 2021, consumption, as well as production, showed positive dynamics (+5.2%).
In value terms, beer sales in 2021 exceeded $100 billion, and the average price increased by 13.2% to $2.40 per liter. It should be noted that the average price of a liter of beer in the catering sector is almost twice the average price in retail: $3.17 versus $1.63.
The megacities of China, the central and northeastern provinces are the key areas of beer consumption. Beer of the middle price segment, mainly lagers with a low alcohol content (~3%), forms the basis of consumption — it accounts for about 85% of the market.
Another 10% of the market is occupied by the upper price segment — it presents both imported and bottled beer of foreign brands bottled in China. This segment is dynamically developing and highly competitive.
The premium price segment, which includes imported and local craft bottled, as well as draft beer, occupies up to 5% of the market. The target audience of this product category is the young and middle-aged population with higher education and high income.
Several leading companies stand out in the Chinese beer market. In 2021, the top 3 companies accounted for more than half of beer sales in value terms. At the same time, the largest market share was occupied by the Chinese company China Resources Holdings (23.8%) with the flagship brand Snow. Behind it is another local producer Tsingtao Brewery with a 17.1% share and the multinational corporation AnheuserBusch InBev, whose products accounted for 15.7% of sales.
Imported products occupy about 1% of the Chinese beer market, however, due to the significant capacity of the market in absolute terms, import volumes are significant.
In 2021, China's beer imports amounted to 529.8 thousand tons in the amount of 710.5 million US dollars, which was the lowest figure in the last five years in physical terms.
In turn, the peak of imports was recorded in 2018, when 826.1 thousand tons of products (904.4 million US dollars) were imported. In general, during 2017-2021. Beer imports on average annually decreased by 7.4% in physical terms and by 1.3% in value.
Three countries took the leading positions in the structure of China's beer imports in physical terms: Germany (32.8%), Belgium (9.7%) and Mexico (8.4%). Russia is in fifth place with an indicator of 36.3 thousand tons by the end of 2021, which corresponds to the share of imports of 6.8%. At the same time, back in 2017, deliveries from Russia amounted to 19.4 thousand tons, but in subsequent years they increased to 34 thousand tons.
During 2017-2021, the leaders in beer exports to the Chinese market in value terms were Germany (20.6%), Belgium (16.7%) and Mexico (11.3%). In dynamics, there is a decrease in supplies from Germany (by 30.1%) and Mexico (by 27.6%), while beer imports from Belgium in value terms have increased by 1.7 times over five years. In 2021, Russia became the seventh largest exporter of beer to China (in value terms), having shipped products worth 26.4 million US dollars.
Zhejiang, Fujian and Shanghai (east coast), Beijing, as well as Guangdong (southeast coast) are the key provinces of China for the import of beer into the country. In 2021, they accounted for more than 85% of beer imports in value terms.
In 2021, the average price per ton of beer on the basis of CIF delivery was $1,341, an increase of 13.8% compared to the previous year. It should be noted that during 2017-2021, the price steadily increased, and the cumulative average annual growth rate was 6.5%.
Trends in the Chinese beer market
China is the world's largest producer of beer, which occupies a predominant share of the country's alcoholic beverages market. As in many other countries, craft beer is becoming increasingly popular in China. Themed beer pubs and bars are appearing, where consumers are offered draft and bottled beer with a wide variety of flavors, ranging from craft lagers to premium author's beer drinks.
With the spread of the trend for healthy lifestyle, the demand for non-alcoholic beer is growing. Statistics show that women are the main target group in the consumption of non-alcoholic beer in China. Following consumer trends, Budweiser Anheuser-Busch, the world's largest beer producer, has released 12 new varieties of non-alcoholic and low-alcohol beer specifically for the Chinese market. In terms of beer varieties, the Chinese prefer lager, IPA, fruit beer (smoothies and souers) is also gaining popularity.
Chinese consumers are influenced by social networks, so drinks in non-standard bottles or cans are in great demand, a photo of which can be shared in your profile. Beer is also used to prepare various dishes and marinades (duck stewed in beer sauce is considered a popular dish).
Wusu lager beer quickly gained success among Chinese consumers due to its unique taste. Many consumers believe that Wusu lager has a thick and rich taste of wort, which many other beer products do not have. Every summer, a large beer festival is organized in the Chinese city of Qingdao, which is considered the Asian Oktoberfest. Brewing companies from all over the world take part in it. The festival was first held in 1991 and is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the city of Qingdao. Since then, it has been held on an ongoing basis annually.
