(Adnkronos) – Russia has ousted Germany from the top five beer producers in the world. While Germany produced slightly less beer last year, production in the Eurasian giant increased significantly, according to a report by BarthHaas, the world’s largest hop trader.
Germany also loses the title of Europe’s leading beer producer, which it had held since 2013, surpassed by Moscow. China remains the number one beer-producing nation in the world, ahead of the United States. The author of the report, Heinrich Meier, informs that beer production in Russia increased by about 9%, reaching 9.1 billion liters, while in Germany it decreased by 1%, standing at 8.4 billion liters.
BarthHaas CEO Thomas Raiser attributes the increase in production in Russia mainly to the fact that now, three years after the start of the invasion of Ukraine, less beer is imported and therefore domestic production is increasing.
Both Russia and Germany are well below the world’s leading beer-producing nations. The report states that China produced 34 billion liters and the United States over 18 billion, although both countries experienced declines of around 5%.
Brazil and Mexico also produced more beer than Russia and Germany in 2024, with 14.7 and 14.5 billion liters respectively. Germany has long seen a downward trend in beer consumption due to an aging population, competition from a growing number of other beverages, and declining purchasing power in times of economic hardship.
The report contains some good news for the German beer industry, with the country maintaining its place as the world’s leading supplier of hops, one of the main ingredients in the alcoholic beverage. However, the number of hop growers in Germany has been declining for some time and this year reached a “historic low” of less than a thousand units.
