Beer market down 5% in 2022

The Romanian Brewers Association announces the evolution of the beer market in 2022:

• The volume of the beer market is down -5% in volume in 2022 compared to the previous year, which means 15.8 million hl.
• Non-alcoholic beer saw the highest growth, exceeding 5% market share.
• In terms of packaging, the beer market is consolidating the pre-crisis trend, with glass increasing and PET decreasing.
• The HORECA sector’s share of beer sales has not returned to pre-coronavirus pandemic levels of around 15-20%, increasing last year by only one percentage point to 10% compared to 2021.

“The brewers are going through an extremely volatile period. 2022 was a challenging year from the difficult economic context – with record inflation, significant increases in energy and fuel costs, raw materials and packaging – but also from the aftermath of the war in Ukraine. Despite all these limitations, the beer sector is important, both through its contributions to the economy and also to consumers. 2023 is particularly important for sustainability, with the Guarantee-Return System to be launched at the end of this year and setting the stage for a competitive circular economy“, said Dan Robinson, President of the Romanian Brewers Association.

“After four years in which the beer market has remained stable, this is the first time we have seen a decrease in the annual volume of beer consumed in Romania. In addition to the already existing economic constraints, which have led to a cumulative increase of more than 60% in production costs for beer, there has also been high fiscal pressure on producers in our sector. This is why Romania’s Brewers are campaigning for fiscal stability and a constructive approach in the dialogue with the authorities, adapted to the current economic context and challenges”, continued Julia Leferman, Director General of the Romanian Brewers Association.

Even in the face of a declining market volume, the beer sector continues to be an important contributor to the Romanian economy. The beer industry directly and indirectly provides more than 61,000 jobs throughout the country, covers around 97% of domestic beer consumption exclusively from local production, and 50% of the ingredients used in brewing come from Romanian agriculture. The beer sector contributes to Romania’s economic growth through its long-term commitment to invest locally and strengthen a responsible industry.

Key data in 2022

• Contributions to the state budget: the tax contributions of the members of the Romanian Brewers Association to the state budget are increasing compared to previous years, reaching €286 million in 2022. The cumulative contribution level from the Association’s members over the last 19 years has exceeded €4.7 billion.
• Investment: the investment efforts of the Association’s member brewers are significant, amounting to €78 million last year. The cumulative investments of the members of the Romanian Brewers Association since its foundation reached €1.88 billion.
• Types of beer consumed: lager beer continued to dominate Romanians’ preferences in 2022, with a share of 93.4%, slightly down from the previous year. The non-alcoholic category, which includes non-alcoholic beer and non-alcoholic beer mixes, showed the most spectacular evolution, exceeding 5% market share. The smallest segments – specialties, represented by dark, pasteurized, white, ale, red beers, etc. – have 1 percent of the market, slightly up on the previous year, while beer mixes and alcohol-flavored beers took 0.5 percent of the market.

“Non-alcoholic beer meets the needs of modern consumers, who are increasingly demanding — it keeps the refreshing effect and flavor of beer intact for those who don’t want or can’t consume alcohol. Thus, the non-alcoholic beers in the producers’ portfolios support the responsible consumption promoted by beer category,” added Julia Leferman, Director General of the Romanian Brewers Association.

• Consumer preferences by packaging type: the packaging structure of the beer market in 2022 has resumed pre-pandemic trends. The undisputed stars of 2022 were the bottle and keg, with shares up almost 3 percentage points on the previous year. Draft beer reached the share held before the sanitary crisis marked by extended periods of lockdown in HoReCa. In the case of canned beer, the trend in recent years has been one of steady, if not significant, progress. PET is the only type of packaging to have fallen last year, by almost 3 pp. Share by type of packaging – bottle: 33.3%, can: 24.8%, keg: 3.2%, PET: 38.7%.
• Imports: The domestic beer market continues to retain its deeply national character, with the share of local production remaining at 97% of domestic consumption. During 2022, imports increased slightly by 0.3 million hl to a total of 0.72 million hl.
• Exports: exports also increased slightly by 0.3 million hl compared to the previous year, reaching a total of 0.52 million hl.
• Number of brewers: this is the first year that the number of brewers has fallen as a result of the economic crisis to 90 in 2022, compared to 93 in 2021.

Source of data in the press release: BDO Business Advisory 2022 and Brewers of Europe study on the economic impact of the beer sector in Romania, 2020 edition.