European Union beer exports to nonmember countries fell 11% in 2025

The European Union exported 3.2 billion liters of alcoholic beer to countries outside the bloc in 2025, an 11% drop from 2024, while imports from non-EU countries rose 6% to 500 million liters, according to data released by Eurostat.

The figures show a weaker year for the EU’s beer sales beyond its borders even as imports continued to edge higher. Eurostat said the data cover alcoholic beer only, excluding non-alcoholic products.

Belgium was the EU’s largest beer exporter in 2025 when total shipments within and outside the bloc are combined. It exported about 1.5 billion liters, slightly ahead of the Netherlands at 1.4 billion liters and Germany at 1.3 billion liters. The Czech Republic and Ireland followed, each with about 600 million liters.

The ranking points to a high concentration of beer exports among a small group of producers and trading hubs. Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany together accounted for about 4.2 billion liters, far ahead of the next two countries in the list. Belgium’s lead over the Netherlands was about 100 million liters, and the gap between the Netherlands and Germany was roughly the same. After third place, the difference widened sharply, with Germany exporting more than twice as much as either the Czech Republic or Ireland.

France was the largest beer importer among EU countries in 2025, with about 900 million liters. Italy ranked second with more than 700 million liters, followed by Germany and Spain at about 600 million liters each. The Netherlands was fifth with about 300 million liters.

France imported about 200 million liters more than Italy and about 300 million liters more than Germany or Spain. Its volume was about three times that of the Netherlands. Among the five largest importers, the combined volume reached about 3.1 billion liters.

Germany and the Netherlands were the only countries that appeared in both the top five exporters and the top five importers. Germany ranked third on both lists, exporting about 1.3 billion liters and importing about 600 million liters. The Netherlands had a wider gap between the two sides of its trade, ranking second in exports with 1.4 billion liters and fifth in imports with about 300 million liters.

Belgium, the Czech Republic and Ireland were among the bloc’s leading beer exporters but did not appear among the top five importers. By contrast, France, Italy and Spain ranked among the biggest importers but were not listed among the top five exporters. The split underlines how the countries that ship the most beer are not necessarily the same as those that buy the most.

Eurostat’s figures are measured in liters rather than value, which means they do not show which countries earned the most revenue from beer exports or paid the highest average prices for imports. The numbers also do not measure beer production or consumption directly, since a country can both export and import large volumes in the same year.

The data come as the EU remains one of the world’s main beer trading regions, with strong cross-border flows inside the single market and large shipments to outside markets. Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany have long held central roles in that trade because of their brewing industries, transport networks and established export channels.

The 11% fall in beer exports outside the EU marks the clearest year-on-year change in the latest release. Eurostat did not attribute a single cause in the data summary, but the figures show that external demand for EU alcoholic beer weakened in 2025 even as purchases from abroad moved in the opposite direction. Imports from outside the bloc remain far below the volume of exports, however, with the EU still shipping out more than six times as much beer as it buys from non-EU countries.

The country rankings also show how uneven the market is inside the bloc. Belgium’s 1.5 billion liters put it about 2.5 times ahead of the Czech Republic or Ireland. The top three exporters alone accounted for nearly four-fifths of the volume recorded by the top five. On the import side, France and Italy together reached about 1.6 billion liters, just over half of the total imported by the top five countries.

Spain’s position was also notable. It matched Germany at about 600 million liters of imports and stood only around 100 million liters behind Italy, yet it did not place among the largest exporters. France showed a similar pattern on a larger scale, leading the import ranking while staying outside the top five exporters.

The figures provide a snapshot of how beer moved across borders in 2025, both within the EU market and in trade with the rest of the world. They show a bloc that remains a major net exporter of alcoholic beer, led by Belgium in outbound shipments and by France in imports, while external sales lost momentum over the year.