Overall, the cost of beer imports inflated by 9.4% for all importing countries from five years earlier in 2019 when international purchases of beer were valued at $16.6 billion.
Year over year, purchases of globally imported beer rose 4.1% compared to $17.4 billion starting in 2022.
The 5 biggest buyers of imported beer are the United States of America, France, Italy, Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Combined, that leading quintet bought 56.7% worth of globally imported beer during 2023.
From a continental perspective, buyer countries in North America accounted for the highest dollar worth of imported beer during 2023 with purchases costing $7.5 billion or 41.3% of the global total. In second place were importers located in Europe at 35.6% while another 11.5% of beer imported worldwide was delivered to customers in Asia.
Smaller percentages arrived in Latin America (6.9%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Africa (3.2%), then Oceania (1.4%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System code prefix is 2203 for beer.
Top 15 Beer Importers by Country
Below are the 15 countries that spent the most on imported beer during 2023.
- United States: US$7.1 billion (39.3% of total beer imports)
- France: $1.2 billion (6.5%)
- Italy: $782.8 million (4.3%)
- Netherlands: $594.1 million (3.3%)
- United Kingdom: $591.6 million (3.3%)
- mainland China: $578.2 million (3.2%)
- Spain: $465.1 million (2.6%)
- Germany: $455.8 million (2.5%)
- Cuba: $339.8 million (1.9%)
- Canada: $331.4 million (1.8%)
- Russia: $290.6 million (1.6%)
- Ireland: $264.6 million (1.5%)
- Taiwan: $255.7 million (1.4%)
- South Korea: $218.2 million (1.2%)
- United Arab Emirates: $210.5 million (1.2%)
By value, the listed 15 countries purchased 75.5% of all beer imported in 2023.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing markets for beer since 2022 were: Cuba (up 148%), Russia (up 26.2%), Spain (up 22.8%) and United Arab Emirates (up 22.1%).
A pair of leading buyer countries posted declines in their imported beer purchases, namely Canada (down -20.1% from 2022) and mainland China (down -11.1%).
Searchable List of Beer Importer Countries in 2023
The 100 major importers of ale from international markets accounted for 98.4% of beer imported worldwide during 2023.
| Rank | Importer | Beer Imports | 2022-3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | United States | $7,138,478,000 | +1.3% |
| 2. | France | $1,185,622,000 | +17.3% |
| 3. | Italy | $782,819,000 | +12.7% |
| 4. | Netherlands | $594,050,000 | +18.3% |
| 5. | United Kingdom | $591,606,000 | +1.7% |
| 6. | mainland China | $578,171,000 | -11.1% |
| 7. | Spain | $465,131,000 | +22.8% |
| 8. | Germany | $455,799,000 | 0% |
| 9. | Cuba | $339,756,000 | +148% |
| 10. | Canada | $331,353,000 | -20.1% |
| 11. | Russia | $290,620,000 | +26.2% |
| 12. | Ireland | $264,624,000 | +11.3% |
| 13. | Taiwan | $255,705,000 | +11.7% |
| 14. | South Korea | $218,216,000 | +11.8% |
| 15. | United Arab Emirates | $210,453,000 | +22.1% |
| 16. | Australia | $170,913,000 | -24% |
| 17. | Paraguay | $158,932,000 | +7.5% |
| 18. | Sweden | $138,062,000 | +8.9% |
| 19. | South Africa | $132,187,000 | +4.4% |
| 20. | Hong Kong | $128,731,000 | +12% |
| 21. | Belgium | $127,626,000 | +5.2% |
| 22. | Switzerland | $124,676,000 | +10.4% |
| 23. | Singapore | $101,940,000 | -9.6% |
| 24. | Hungary | $99,032,000 | +14.9% |
| 25. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $98,243,000 | +29.9% |
| 26. | Poland | $92,436,000 | +7.8% |
| 27. | Slovakia | $86,182,000 | +9.6% |
| 28. | Panama | $83,978,000 | -33.4% |
| 29. | Austria | $82,896,000 | +12.5% |
| 30. | Israel | $82,195,000 | +6.3% |
| 31. | Latvia | $81,619,000 | +24.7% |
| 32. | Lithuania | $77,806,000 | +42.4% |
| 33. | Honduras | $77,659,000 | 0% |
| 34. | Portugal | $73,244,000 | +4.3% |
| 35. | Guatemala | $72,967,000 | -15.4% |
| 36. | Ukraine | $71,319,000 | +29.5% |
| 37. | Chile | $71,176,000 | -65.9% |
| 38. | Japan | $69,441,000 | -6.3% |
| 39. | New Zealand | $66,921,000 | -14.4% |
| 40. | Croatia | $61,768,000 | +9.9% |
| 41. | Denmark | $58,743,000 | -3.8% |
| 42. | Romania | $55,387,000 | -5.6% |
| 43. | Dominican Republic | $54,327,000 | -9.1% |
| 44. | Namibia | $54,325,000 | +490% |
| 45. | Luxembourg | $49,962,000 | +11.9% |
| 46. | Botswana | $49,241,000 | +28.1% |
| 47. | Colombia | $48,353,000 | +22.5% |
| 48. | Malaysia | $47,797,000 | +41.1% |
| 49. | Kazakhstan | $46,790,000 | +0.2% |
| 50. | Peru | $45,574,000 | -6.2% |
| 51. | Thailand | $44,784,000 | +14.6% |
| 52. | Finland | $43,516,000 | -0.8% |
| 53. | Zambia | $43,176,000 | +10.9% |
| 54. | Norway | $42,915,000 | -15.2% |
| 55. | Slovenia | $38,793,000 | +15.8% |
| 56. | Bulgaria | $38,021,000 | -19.4% |
| 57. | Costa Rica | $36,856,000 | +5.1% |
| 58. | Ecuador | $36,161,000 | +4.2% |
| 59. | Iraq | $35,824,000 | -33.1% |
| 60. | Uruguay | $35,022,000 | +19% |
| 61. | Bolivia | $34,767,000 | +53.6% |
| 62. | Czech Republic | $34,140,000 | +3.3% |
| 63. | Albania | $33,624,000 | +50085% |
| 64. | Greece | $32,882,000 | +11% |
| 65. | Bahrain | $30,280,000 | +12.2% |
| 66. | Vietnam | $29,538,000 | +164.5% |
| 67. | South Sudan | $28,810,000 | -9.3% |
| 68. | El Salvador | $27,325,000 | -26.8% |
| 69. | Estonia | $26,905,000 | +5% |
| 70. | Equatorial Guinea | $26,825,000 | -26.8% |
| 71. | Morocco | $25,463,000 | +1% |
| 72. | Türkiye | $25,268,000 | +39.5% |
| 73. | Serbia | $24,026,000 | -25.2% |
| 74. | Montenegro | $22,633,000 | +42.8% |
| 75. | Mongolia | $22,268,000 | -11.2% |
| 76. | Andorra | $22,007,000 | +13.7% |
| 77. | Djibouti | $20,805,000 | +70.3% |
| 78. | Ivory Coast | $20,749,000 | +26.9% |
| 79. | Moldova | $20,545,000 | +24.4% |
| 80. | Cyprus | $19,090,000 | +31.6% |
| 81. | Macao | $18,758,000 | +16.7% |
| 82. | Curaçao | $18,383,000 | +2.4% |
| 83. | Tanzania | $17,073,000 | -4% |
| 84. | Mexico | $16,499,000 | -50% |
| 85. | Timor-Leste | $16,355,000 | +1.3% |
| 86. | Senegal | $13,177,000 | +8.4% |
| 87. | Georgia | $12,417,000 | +34.4% |
| 88. | Uganda | $12,118,000 | -6.6% |
| 89. | Belarus | $11,801,000 | +22.4% |
| 90. | Eswatini | $11,743,000 | -16.1% |
| 91. | Bahamas | $11,632,000 | +26.6% |
| 92. | India | $11,472,000 | +80.3% |
| 93. | Guinea-Bissau | $10,777,000 | -8.5% |
| 94. | Cambodia | $10,533,000 | +8.2% |
| 95. | Kyrgyzstan | $10,508,000 | -14.3% |
| 96. | Laos | $10,453,000 | -11.2% |
| 97. | Cabo Verde | $10,272,000 | +12.2% |
| 98. | Malta | $10,044,000 | +4.6% |
| 99. | Trinidad/Tobago | $9,948,000 | +46.3% |
| 100. | North Macedonia | $9,731,000 | +30.7% |
Focusing the top 100 most valuable importers of beer, the fastest-growing buyers of imported beer from 2022 to 2023 are Albania (up 50,085%), Namibia (up 490%), Vietnam (up 164.5%), Cuba (up 148%) then India (up 80.3%).
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the above table’s columns. An entry of 0% in the right-most column means that 2022 data was unavailable.
Beer Imported into the United States of America
America’s global purchases of imported beer totaled US$7.14 billion in 2023. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which the US imported the highest dollar value worth of beer during 2023. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2022 to 2023.
- Mexico: US$5.8 billion (up 5.3% from 2022)
- Netherlands: $721.6 million (down -19.4%)
- Ireland: $179.5 million (down -9.4%)
- Canada: $110.4 million (up 8.2%)
- Germany: $84.9 million (down -4.6%)
- Belgium: $47.8 million (down -19.1%)
- Italy: $36.6 million (down -2.9%)
- Jamaica: $19.7 million (up 10.9%)
- United Kingdom: $13.8 million (down -23.7%)
- Guatemala: $11.5 million (up 19.9%)
- Vietnam: $10.6 million (down -25.5%)
- South Korea: $9.6 million (up 17.2%)
- Japan: $9.31 million (down -18.6%)
- Poland: $9.3 million (down -19.2%)
- Czech Republic: $7.3 million (down -22.3%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 99.2% of beer imported by the United States of America in 2023.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of beer to the United States from 2022 to 2023 were: Guatemala (up 19.9%), South Korea (up 17.2%), Jamaica (up 10.9%) and Canada (up 8.2%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their beer supplied to American importers included: Vietnam (down -25.5% from 2022), United Kingdom (down -23.7%), Czech Republic (down -22.3%) and the Netherlands (down -19.4%).
Overall, the value of United States’s imported beer rose by an average 1.3% from all supplying countries from 2022 to 2023 when beer purchased cost $7.1 billion.
Beer Imported into France
France’s global purchases of imported beer totaled US$1.19 billion in 2023. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which France imported the highest dollar value worth of beer during 2023. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2022 to 2023.
- Belgium: US$695 million (up 14.4% from 2022)
- Netherlands: $217.1 million (up 29.9%)
- United Kingdom: $67.2 million (down -2.9%)
- Germany: $56.7 million (up 13.6%)
- Portugal: $26.3 million (up 15.5%)
- Spain: $22.7 million (up 281.9%)
- Ireland: $18.9 million (up 25.6%)
- Italy: $15.9 million (up 48%)
- Poland: $7.2 million (up 6.4%)
- mainland China: $6.3 million (up 21%)
- Mexico: $4.5 million (up 55.6%)
- Denmark: $4.5 million (up 38.5%)
- Czech Republic: $2.7 million (up 14.3%)
- Luxembourg: $2.2 million (up 5.6%)
- Mauritius: $1.8 million (up 18.2%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 96.9% of beer imported by France in 2023.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of beer to France from 2022 to 2023 were: Spain (up 281.9%), Mexico (up 55.6%), Italy (up 48.0%) and Denmark (up 38.5%).
The United Kingdom was the sole decliner in the value of beer supplied to French importers, weighed down by a -2.9% retreat.
Overall, the value of France’s imported beer rose by an average 17.3% from all supplying countries from 2022 to 2023 when beer purchased cost $1 billion.
Beer Imported into Italy
Italy’s global purchases of imported beer totaled US$782.8 million in 2023. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which Italy imported the highest dollar value worth of beer during 2023. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2022 to 2023.
- Germany: US$314 million (up 34.2% from 2022)
- Belgium: $189 million (up 24.1%)
- Netherlands: $66.4 million (down -10.2%)
- Denmark: $65.1 million (down -28.3%)
- Poland: $46.1 million (up 37.3%)
- France: $27.3 million (up 4.9%)
- United Kingdom: $17.7 million (down -12.1%)
- Austria: $13.2 million (down -11.9%)
- Ireland: $11.4 million (up 45.7%)
- Spain: $7.6 million (up 24.5%)
- mainland China: $4.7 million (down -5.6%)
- Romania: $4.6 million (up 133.2%)
- Slovenia: $4.5 million (up 2.9%)
- Czech Republic: $3.9 million (up 4.2%)
- Sweden: $1.5 million (up 18.6%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 99.3% of beer imported by Italy in 2023.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of beer to Italy from 2022 to 2023 were: Romania (up 133.2%), Ireland (up 45.7%), Poland (up 37.3%) and Germany (up 34.2%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their beer supplied to Italian importers included: Denmark (down -28.3% from 2022), United Kingdom (down -12.1%), Austria (down -11.9%) and Netherlands (down -10.2%).
Overall, the value of Italy’s imported beer expanded by an average 12.7% from all supplying countries from 2022 to 2023 when beer purchased cost $694.3 million.
Beer Imported into the Netherlands
The Netherlands’ global purchases of imported beer totaled US$594.1 million in 2023. Below are the top 15 suppliers from which the Netherlands imported the highest dollar value worth of beer during 2023. Within parenthesis is the percentage change in value for each supplying country from 2022 to 2023.
- Belgium: US$393.9 million (up 24.5% from 2022)
- Germany: $65.5 million (down -7.2%)
- France: $26.8 million (up 17.4%)
- Poland: $25.8 million (up 21.8%)
- United Kingdom: $19.5 million (up 10.6%)
- Italy: $9 million (down -24%)
- Ireland: $8.2 million (up 58.4%)
- Spain: $5.8 million (up 45.3%)
- Denmark: $5.4 million (down -15.1%)
- Czech Republic: $5 million (up 62.4%)
- United States: $4 million (up 3.9%)
- Austria: $3.4 million (up 17.5%)
- Luxembourg: $2.3 million (up 18.5%)
- Mexico: $2.1 million (up 17.1%)
- mainland China: $1.7 million (up 58.1%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped 97.4% of beer imported by the Netherlands in 2023.
Among the above countries, the fastest-growing suppliers of beer to the Netherlands from 2022 to 2023 were: Czech Republic (up 62.4%), Ireland (up 58.4%), mainland China (up 58.1%) and Spain (up 45.3%).
Countries that experienced declines in the value of their beer supplied to Dutch importers were: Italy (down -24%), Denmark (down -15.1%) and Germany (down -7.2%).
Overall, the value of Netherlands’s imported beer accelerated by an average 18.3% from all supplying countries from 2022 to 2023 when beer purchased cost $502.2 million.
Related Read: US Imported Beer Ranked by Suppliers & Average Prices
See also Beer Exports by Country, America’s Top Trading Partners and France’s Top 10 Imports
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on September 9, 2024
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on September 9, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on September 9, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on September 9, 2024