Beer brewers heavily impacted by ongoing pub closures

Beer consumption in Ireland was already falling prior to Covid-19

Beer consumption in Ireland fell by 2% last year, with per-capita beer consumption down by 2.9%.

Ireland’s beer sector has been heavily impacted by Covid-19 because of the continued pub closures, trade body Drinks Ireland has said.

Releasing its annual Beer Market Report which updates on the performance of the sector in 2019, just prior to the Covid crisis, the trade body said provisional Revenue data released last week shows that beer sales fell by 17.4% in April, May and June 2020 - compared to the same period last year.

Jonathan McDade, Director of Drinks Ireland|Beer said the Government needs to set up a task force that is aimed at providing financial support for pubs that remain closed due to the Covid-19 crisis.

“With almost 50% of pubs remaining closed, a strong joined-up Government support package is a priority, to avoid mass closures," he said.

Drinks Ireland which is affiliated with IBEC said brewers have supported pubs during the Covid-19 crisis, collecting out of date beer, and the cleaning of beer lines ahead of the planned full reopening of the sector, which has again been pushed out. It now says that there is an urgent need for dedicated Government support.

The report shows that total beer consumption fell by 2% last year, with per capita beer consumption down by 2.9%.

“Prior to the Covid crisis, 2019 was a challenging year for the sector with a decline in total beer sales and production. As a result of the Covid-19 crisis and subsequent lockdown measures, the brewing sector faces an uncertain future due to its reliance on a vibrant and active hospitality sector,” added Mr McDade.

Beer sales declining before Covid https://t.co/7QQGL28V1g #beer @DrinksIreland pic.twitter.com/ainhPDqRUr

— Drinks Industry IE (@DrinksInd_ie) August 7, 2020

The report also indicates that last year, 62.7% of all beer sales were in the on-trade and 37.3% were in the off-trade, while 80% of stout sales, 78% of ale sales and 53% of lager sales were recorded in the on-trade sector.

Overall, it stated that “total production was down marginally between 2018 and 2019 by 1%”. Beer exports increased in 2019 by 8.5%, reaching €305m and the top five export markets for Irish beer last year were the UK, France, the USA, Germany and Canada.

Direct employment among Drinks Ireland|Beer members was up marginally last year by 4%, from 1,103 people to 1,147 people and the report also confirmed that beer is Ireland's favourite drink, with a 44.6% market share in 2019. Lager is Ireland’s most popular beer (63.5%), followed by stout (29.3%), ale (6.2%) and non-alcoholic beer (1.0%).

“Despite these challenging times, Ireland continues to love beer and it remains the nation’s favourite drink,” Mr McDade added.

“In recent years and prior to Covid-19, we saw significant innovation in the sector, resulting in more choice than ever for Irish consumers and an increase in the popularity of non-alcoholic beer.

“The sector continued to make an important contribution to the economy in 2019, with €421 million in excise receipts and €305 million worth of beer exports.”