This is because since the start of the war in Ukraine, trade with the West has decreased, increasing beer brewing for domestic use.
German business magazine Handelsblatt reported on the 23rd that Russian beer production reached 9.1 billion liters last year, outpacing Germany, which only reached 8.4 billion liters, citing the Barthes report, a beer raw material hop trader.
Production of Russian beer increased by 9 percent over the past year, while that of German beer fell by 1 percent. Russia ranked fifth in the world after China (34 billion liters), the U.S. (18 billion liters), Brazil (14.7 billion liters), and Mexico (14.5 billion liters), and became the No. 1 beer producer in Europe, and it is the first time in 12 years that Germany has given up the No. 1 position in Europe.
Five years ago, Germany made 1.4 billion liters of beer than Russia, but the gap has narrowed every year. Barthes Thomas Reiser, president of Germany, said, “The import of beer in Russia has decreased while domestic production has increased.”
Russia, which is considered the world’s most drunk country, has filled its domestic demand with beer imported from Germany and the Czech Republic due to insufficient domestic production, but after the outbreak of the war, both Russia and the West are reluctant to import and export beer.
Beer is not subject to EU sanctions against Russia, but European beer companies continue to be criticized for selling alcohol to countries that have started the war.
Polish media outlet Zechpospolita criticized the Czech Republic’s growing exports of beer to Russia even during the war, saying, “There is no ethical doubt in Czech breweries.”
Germany’s Baden-Wurttemberg state declared last year that state-owned breweries would not export beer to Russia, saying, “We have to decide whether to maintain a deal with Russia.”
Moreover, Europe’s exports plunged as Russia raised tariffs on beer imported from so-called non-friendly countries, including Germany, from 0.01 euros per liter to 1 euro this year.
According to RIA Novosti news agency, China’s beer exports to Russia, which are not friendly countries, nearly doubled in the first quarter of this year from the previous year, outpacing Germany and the Czech Republic for the first time.
Russian Agriculture Minister Oksana Root recently said she would increase hop production to meet 50% of domestic demand by 2030.
JULIE KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
