Figures released on Friday by the European Statistical Office Eurostat show that Belgium has retained its position as Europe’s second-biggest exporter of beer. Belgium accounts for 17% of the EU’s beer exports. Only The Netherlands exports more beer than Belgium.
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Belgium remains Europe’s second biggest beer exporter
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In 2022 Belgium exported 1.6 billion litres of beer which is around 17% of EU beer exports. The Netherlands exported 2.6 billion litres of beer (27%). The EU’s third biggest beer exporter in 2022 was Germany.
Our German neighbours exported 1.5 billion litres of their beer. The figures take into account both exports to other EU member states and exports to countries outside the European Union.
“Belgian” beer produced locally
Eurostat’s figures are roughly the same as the export figures released recently by the Belgian Brewers’ Federation. The brewers gave a 2022 export figure of 16.39 billion litres.
This figure was down for the third consecutive year and was 5.5% lower than the figures for 2021. The fall in beer exports from Belgium is due to Belgian brewers switching to local production of their products. Stella Artois, for example, has been brewing locally in the US since 2021.