Germany has a well-deserved reputation as a land of beer drinkers with more than 6 million people attending this year’s Oktoberfest in Munich.
But data released on Monday showed a further decline in beer sales in the nation as interest grows in a healthy lifestyle and the choice of drinks expands.
Germany’s about 60 breweries sold 72.0 million hectolitres of beer in the first nine months of 2017 – down 3.1 per cent from the same period last year, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said.
Domestic beer sales fell 2.7 per cent after contracting for years. The domestic market represents 81.9 per cent of German brewers‘ total sales.
The decline so far for 2017 partly reflects that there were no major sporting events, notably football championships, held this year.
But worryingly for the German beer industry, their exports also fell sharply this year, dropping by 3.1 per cent to the nation‘s main trading partners in the European Union and by 6.6 per cent to non-EU states.(dpa/NAN)
