Hungarian’s beer consumption decreased last year

In 2020, the total turnover of the five largest Hungarian breweries (Borsodi, Dreher, Heineken, Carlsberg and Pécsi) decreased by 7.5 per cent. Domestic sales fell by 9 per cent, which means 5,667 million hectolitres of beer.

The director of the Association of Hungarian Brewers (MSSZ), Sándor Kántor, justified the decrease with epidemiological measures affecting the HORECA sector, including hotels, restaurants and café houses, writes Index.

The turnover of barrel beer in 2020 decreased to nearly half of the previous year, 297 thousand hectolitres sold, 4.8 per cent of the total turnover. Sales of reusable bottles’ beer fell twenty-six per cent to 965 thousand hectolitres. It is noticeable that although domestic beer consumption decreased,

the volume of beer exported by domestic producers increased by twelve per cent last year.

Most of the exports are sold to the markets of the surrounding countries. In 2020, Hungary exported 9.7 per cent of 5378 million hectolitres of Hungarian production, which means 521 thousand hectolitres.

The turnover of super-premium and flavoured non-alcoholic beers was almost the same as in the previous year—380 thousand hectolitres of super premium beers and 244 thousand hectolitres of flavoured non-alcoholic beers.