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US Imported Beer Ranked by Suppliers & Average Prices

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Imported beer
In 2023, importers in the United States of America bought a total US$7.14 billion worth of beer from 79 supplier countries.

That dollar amount results from a 22.2% gain from the $5.84 billion that the US spent on overall beer imports 5 years earlier in 2019, slowing to a 1.3% year-over-year increase from $7.05 billion starting from 2022.

Beer is the world’s most popular alcoholic beverage ahead of wine and vodka. Ale is also the fifth-most consumer drink on the planet trailing only water, tea, coffee and orange juice.

From a continent perspective, over four-fifths (82.9%) of America’s global spending on imported beer came from exporters in North America. In second place were suppliers in Europe (15.8%).

Tinier percentages originated from Asia (0.66%), Latin America (0.61%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, Africa (0.011%) then Oceania (0.01%) led by New Zealand and Australia.

Main Countries Supplying Beer to American Importers

Below are the 20 countries from which the United States purchased 99.5% of its overall spending on beer in 2023.

Mexico is America’s number one beer supplier accounting for over four-fifths (81.3%) of US total payments for imported beer in 2023. The second-biggest provider is the Netherlands (10.1%) with Ireland (2.5%) placing a distant third.

  1. Mexico: US$5.8 billion (up 5.3% from 2022)
  2. Netherlands: $721.6 million (down -19.4%)
  3. Ireland: $179.5 million (down -9.4%)
  4. Canada: $110.4 million (up 8.2%)
  5. Germany: $84.9 million (down -4.6%)
  6. Belgium: $47.8 million (down -19.1%)
  7. Italy: $36.6 million (down -2.9%)
  8. Jamaica: $19.7 million (up 10.9%)
  9. United Kingdom: $13.8 million (down -23.7%)
  10. Guatemala: $11.5 million (up 19.9%)
  11. Vietnam: $10.6 million (down -25.5%)
  12. South Korea: $9.6 million (up 17.2%)
  13. Japan: $9.31 million (down -18.6%)
  14. Poland: $9.3 million (down -19.2%)
  15. Czech Republic: $7.31 million (down -22.3%)
  16. Spain: $7.13 million (up 3.8%)
  17. Nicaragua: $5.18 million (up 51.8%)
  18. mainland China: $5.16 million (up 37.8%)
  19. Austria: $5.1 million (up 9%)
  20. India: $5.05 million (up 3.3%)

Posting double-digit increases from 2022 to 2023 in their beer sales to the US were suppliers in Nicaragua (up 51.8%), mainland China (up 37.8%), Guatemala (up 19.9%), South Korea (up 17.2%) and Jamaica (up 10.9%).

Year over year, the biggest losers in terms of selling beer to the US were Vietnam (down -25.5%), United Kingdom (down -23.7%), Czech Republic (down -22.3%), Netherlands (down -19.4%), Poland (down -19.2%), Belgium (down -19.1%) and Japan (down -18.6%).

Major US Beer Suppliers by Shipment Volume

In terms of the physical amount of beer shipped to buyers in the United States in 2023, the top 3 international suppliers are Mexico, the Netherlands and Canada.

Collectively, that trio of leading suppliers of brew imported by the US collected 93.1% of America’s global beer imports during 2023 by volume in cubic meters.

Below are the top 20 countries that furnished the highest amounts of beer by volume.

  1. Mexico: 3.8 million cubic meters of beer (up 1.9% from 2022)
  2. Netherlands: 420,940 cubic meters (down -15.7%)
  3. Canada: 132,009 cubic meters (down -0.7%)
  4. Ireland: 113,856 cubic meters (down -15.1%)
  5. Germany: 60,914 cubic meters (down -4.8%)
  6. Italy: 34,188 cubic meters (down -7.1%)
  7. Belgium: 15,986 cubic meters (down -30.4%)
  8. Jamaica: 12,601 cubic meters (up 1.2%)
  9. Guatemala: 9,717 cubic meters (up 14.2%)
  10. Poland: 9,552 cubic meters (down -5.7%)
  11. Vietnam: 6,990 cubic meters (down -22.3%)
  12. United Kingdom: 6,889 cubic meters (down -28.3%)
  13. Czech Republic: 6,622 cubic meters (down -13.8%)
  14. mainland China: 4,702 cubic meters (up 35.4%)
  15. South Korea: 4,568 cubic meters (up 6.4%)
  16. Spain: 4,440 cubic meters (up 6.3%)
  17. Japan: 4,298 cubic meters (down -4%)
  18. France: 4,162 cubic meters (down -24.2%)
  19. Nicaragua: 3,668 cubic meters (up 13.3%)
  20. Austria: 3,230 cubic meters (up 4.4%)

As measured by volume, the listed 20 countries shipped 99.6% of US beer imports.

Among America’s top beer suppliers by volume, the fastest-growing provider of beer as measured in cubic meters is mainland China (up 35.4% from 2022 to 2023). In second place were beer exporters in Guatemala (up 14.3%) ahead of Nicaragua (up 13.3%).

The severest volume decliners supplying beer to the US were Belgium (down -30.4%), United Kingdom (down -28.3%), France (down -24.2%) and Vietnam (down -22.3%).

Lowest and Highest Unit Prices for US Imported Beer

The average unit price that the United States for all beer that America imported in 2023 was US$1,512 per cubic meter of the world’s most in-demand alcoholic beverage. That dollar average is 2.2% higher than in 2022 and 9.8% greater than for 2019.

The average per cubic meter sales charge from Mexico, the number one supplier of US beer imports, was $1,511–modestly lower than the global average.

Ranked in ascending order, listed below are the 20 top beer suppliers charging the least expensive average unit prices paid by American beer importers.

  1. Ukraine: $751 per cubic meter of beer (up 3% from 2022)
  2. Sri Lanka: $818 (up 1%)
  3. Canada: $836 (up 9%)
  4. Poland: $974 (down -14.4%)
  5. Togo: $1,000 (2022 data unavailable)
  6. France: $1,039 (up 23.7%)
  7. Italy: $1,070 (up 4.5%)
  8. mainland China: $1,098 (up 1.8%)
  9. Czech Republic: $1,103 (down -9.8%)
  10. North Macedonia: $1,120 (down -28.3%)
  11. Costa Rica: $1,123 (down -8.3%)
  12. Brazil: $1,146 (down -16.4%)
  13. Türkiye: $1,174 (up 14.2%)
  14. Guatemala: $1,179 (up 5.1%)
  15. Cameroon: $1,182 (down -16.1%)
  16. Namibia: $1,227 (down -3.6%)
  17. Bosnia/Herzegovina: $1,246 (down -21.6%)
  18. Serbia: $1,319 (up 9.6%)
  19. Norway: $1,319 (down -22.8%)
  20. Armenia: $1,324 (up 5%)

Posting double-digit reductions in average unit price per cubic meter of US imported beer from 2022 to 2023 were low-cost exporters in North Macedonia (down -28.3%), Norway (down -22.8%), Bosnia and Herzegovina (down -21.6%), Brazil (down -16.4%), Cameroon (down -16.1%) then Poland (down -14.4%).

The following top 20 countries satisfying US demand for imported beer charged the highest average unit prices.

  1. Switzerland: $7,333 per cubic meter of beer (up 22.2% from 2022)
  2. Panama: $4,833 (up 20.8%)
  3. Christmas Island: $4,429 (2022 data unavailable)
  4. Uruguay: $4,143 (down -83.4%)
  5. Dominican Republic: $4,013 (up 130.9%)
  6. Hong Kong: $3,194 (down -24.6%)
  7. Georgia: $3,000 (2022 data unavailable)
  8. Belgium: $2,988 (up 16.3%)
  9. Nepal: $2,882 (2022 data unavailable)
  10. Cyprus: $2,750 (up 30.3%)
  11. New Zealand: $2,589 (up 12.3%)
  12. India: $2,511 (down -1.1%)
  13. Slovakia: $2,467 (2022 data unavailable)
  14. Honduras: $2,463 (up 154.7%)
  15. Chile: $2,417 (down -19.4%)
  16. Bulgaria: $2,215 (up 208.1%)
  17. Singapore: $2,179 (down -7.6%)
  18. Greece: $2,175 (up 9.6%)
  19. Japan: $2,166 (down -15.3%)
  20. South Korea: $2,095 (up 10.1%)

The strongest advances in average unit prices for 2023 compared to 2022 in terms of US imported beer was billed by Bulgaria (up 208.1%), Honduras (up 154.7%), Dominican Republic (up 130.9%), Cyprus (up 30.3%) and Switzerland (up 22.2%).
 

See also US Imported Wine Ranked by Suppliers & Average Prices, Beer Exports by Country, Beer Imports by Country, America’s Top Trading Partners, United States Top 10 Imports and US Aluminum Imports by Supplying Country
 

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook, Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on December 14, 2024

Haley’s Daily Blog, 9 Most Consumed Beverages Around the World. Accessed on December 14, 2024

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on December 14, 2024

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on December 14, 2024