Vietnamese people consume nearly 3.8 billion liters of beer

Beer output recorded in 2016 was nearly 3.8 billion liters of beer, an increase of nearly 400,000 liters compared to 2015.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade’s report on industrial and trade development said that Vietnam’s beer output in 2016 was 3.788 billion liters. According to this data, each Vietnamese person drank an average of 42 liters of beer, an increase of about 4 liters compared to last year.

The average amount of beer consumed in the world has not increased in the past decade, while in Vietnam it has grown "vertically". Statistics show that in 2008 Vietnam was ranked 8th in Asia in terms of beer consumption, but 8 years later (2016) it was ranked 3rd, after Japan and China. It is estimated that the total beer output of the industry will be more than 4 billion liters a year after 4 years.

In 2016, each Vietnamese person drank 42 liters of beer, an increase of 4 liters compared to last year.

However, the Ministry of Industry and Trade assessed that the production and consumption of domestic breweries in 2016 increased slowly at 9.3% and only equal to 85.6% of the yearly plan. The increase in special consumption tax by 5%, to 55% from January 2016, is said to be the reason why the production and consumption of enterprises did not increase as expected last year.Domestic manufacturers are having difficulty raising product prices to cover costs and taxes. For example, Saigon Beer, Alcohol and Beverage Corporation (Sabeco) - which holds 43% of the country's beer market share - also increased prices by about 5% last year.

In addition, due to increased budget payments andTax arrears from previous years at the request of the Ministry of Finance and State Audit... also causeDomestic beer businesses face certain difficulties in balancing cash flow.

Currently, the special consumption tax rate on beer is 55% and will increase to 65% in one year, but domestic beer consumption is still increasing.It is forecasted that in 2017, the domestic beer industry's production output will reach about 3.988 billion liters, an increase of 10% compared to 2016.

According to the development plan of Vietnam's beer, alcohol and beverage industry to 2025, with a vision to 2035 approved by the Ministry of Industry and Trade,Approved by Mr. Thuong last September, the industry's target is to produce 4.1 billion liters of beer in the next four years and will increase to 4.6 billion liters of beer in 2025; 5.6 billion liters in 2035. Thus, in the next two decades, the amount of beer produced will increase by one and a half times compared to the figure of 3.8 billion liters in 2016.

According to VNE