Aug. 16 – Vietnam, India, and China helped Asia overtake Europe last year as the world’s largest beer producing region, according to a report released last week by the research division of Kirin Holdings.
The achievement marks the first time Asia has out-produced Europe to claim the top spot since the Kirin Institute of Food and Lifestyle began gathering regional beer production data in 1974.
Beer production across the Asian continent rose 5.5 percent in 2009 to 58.67 billion liters, largely on the back of surging output in Vietnam (up 24.3 percent), India (up 12.3 percent), and China (up 7 percent). Japan, with a 2.2 percent decline, was the only major beer producer in Asia to experience negative growth.
Europe, meanwhile, saw beer production drop 5.1 percent across the continent last year to 55.15 billion liters. The report linked the occurrence to a decline in Europeans’ disposable income following the Global Financial Crisis.
Despite being the world’s top beer manufacturing region, Asia still lags far behind other regions in terms of per capita consumption, leaving plenty of room for growth.
“There is more room for further growth in Asia down the track because Asians’ per capita consumption is relatively small,” the study said.
Global beer production rose 0.4 percent last year to 181 billion liters, setting a new record for the 25th straight year.
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