Irish eyes are smiling - but stout consumption set to fall
today with a pint of stout, but a new report from Datamonitor shows
that Ireland will soon lose its crown as the champion consumer of
the black stuff - South Africa will overtake it by 2007.
Today is St Patrick's Day, and Irish people all over the world - as well as many others who simply like to enjoy themselves - will be celebrating with a few pints of the black stuff. But a new report from Datamonitor shows that the Irish love for Guinness and other stout brands is waning, with South Africa set to take over as the biggest market for the dark heavy beer.
Datamonitor's report shows that while the Irish are far ahead of any other country in annual stout consumption per head, volume consumption is set to decline over the next five years.
The global market for stout was worth $6.3 billion (€5.8bn) in 2002, the report claims, with Ireland proving to be the biggest market with $1.6 billion in stout sales. The UK was next, with a market worth over $1.2 billion.
In volume terms, 1.25 billion litres were sold in 2002, some 269 million of them in Ireland and 248 million in the UK. In third place is South Africa, with 177 million litres, ahead of the US, which is only in fourth place.
When it comes to per capita consumption, the Irish are far ahead of any other country. They drink 76 litres of stout a year per head, well ahead of South Africa and the UK which both consume 4-5 litres a year. "For all that Americans celebrate their Irish roots on St Patrick's Day, this isn't matched by their stout consumption. The average American drinks 0.38 litres of stout a year - not even one pint on March 17," said Datamonitor analyst John Band.
However, the stout market is changing significantly. The heavy drink is losing popularity in its homeland, with Irish volumes set to fall 3.3 per cent a year between now and 2007. Volumes in Britain will fall at around the same rate - and in 2006, South Africa will overtake Ireland to become the world's top stout drinking nation, Datamonitor predicts.
Thanks to the boom in South Africa, and growing volumes across many other non-traditional stout markets in the developing world, stout will be more popular than ever in 2007. The overall market will grow at nearly 1% per cent a year, despite plunging British Isles sales.
"Drinks companies are increasingly focusing on brands that they can market globally," said Band, "and this is true for stouts as much as other beers. Look at Guinness' sponsorship of St Patrick's Day events across the world: it's all about building a brand image, associating their drink with stereotypes of 'cool', fun Irish people."
While Ireland is the only country in the world where dark beers are more popular than lagers, the Irish are not averse to a pint of lager or two. Total Irish beer consumption in 2002 was 169 litres - representing just over a pint a day for everyone aged 15 or over in Ireland. This level of consumption cost $1221 per head, the highest spending in the world.
However, the Irish are only the world's second biggest beer drinkers. The top spot goes to the Czechs, who drink 183 litres a year. Perhaps fortunately for the Czech Republic's health, this level of consumption is declining - by 2007, the consumption rate is forecast to be 'just' 177 litres per head. Irish consumption, on the other hand, looks set to hover around the 168-169 litres per head level until the end of the decade. Britain gives its neighbour a run for its money in beer consumption terms. Brits drink 104 litres a head in 2002 (or 228 pints per person aged over 15).
In terms of cost, however, the UK comes out near the top, with the average price of a pint of beer last year reaching $2.82, or £1.89 (this is the price across all retail channels, including shops and pubs/bars). In the US, this figure was just $1.57 but more than every other country in the world.
The overall British beer market was worth $30.3 billion in 2002, with 6.1 billion litres consumed. This makes the UK the third-biggest market in value terms, behind the US and Japan; Germany and China are next. In volume terms, the US leads again - but the UK is only seventh, behind China, Germany, Brazil, Japan and Russia.
"Part of the reason why UK beer prices are so high is the high taxes," said Band. "But also - like Ireland - we have a pub culture. Some 73 per cent of British beer is drunk in pubs, where prices are always going to be higher than supermarkets or off licences. In America, they only drink 27 per cent of their beer consumption in bars - and even in France it's just 40 per cent."
