As consumers drank less alcoholic beverages last year, global alcohol sales in more than 100 countries fell by over 6%, data from Euromonitor International revealed.
The fall in alcohol sales was also recorded in Asia-Pacific markets, including China where sales contracted by 8.5%. Japan, India, Thailand, and Vietnam also saw alcohol sales decline by 5.9%, 19%, and 14%, respectively.
Only South Korea and Australia posted growth in alcohol sales, rising by 0.4% and 1.3%, respectively.
| Market | Global alcohol sales volume year-on-year growth 2019-2020 |
| China | -8.5% |
| USA | -0.6% |
| Brazil | 4.1% |
| Germany | -5.2% |
| Russia | 1.7% |
| Mexico | -7.2% |
| Japan | -5.9% |
| United Kingdom | -10.1% |
| India | -19.0% |
| Spain | -14.4% |
| France | -8.0% |
| Vietnam | -14.0% |
| Poland | -5.9% |
| Italy | -8.5% |
| South Korea | 0.4% |
| South Africa | -20.4% |
| Canada | 0.4% |
| Argentina | 2.7% |
| Australia | 1.3% |
| Thailand | -9.3% |
Source: Euromonitor International
The sales decline was due to consumers buying fewer alcohol drinks globally to 15.8 billion liters, demonstrating the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on spending behavior, the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD) said.
During the pandemic, hospitality venues such as bars, pubs, and restaurants were temporarily shuttered or told to reduce dine-in capacities in an effort to reduce community transmission of the coronavirus disease.
The IARD also said the decline in alcohol sales is an indication that the majority of people were “drinking the same or less” amount of alcoholic beverages during the lockdowns.
“Despite reports of people rushing to stock up on alcohol in supermarkets, pictures of empty shelves, and fears that people would drink more when confined to their homes, these sales figures definitively show that less alcohol was bought in 2020,” IARD President and CEO Henry Ashworth said in a statement.
