China’s beer exports rose 5.32% in the first nine months of 2026

China increased its beer exports in the first nine months of 2026, shipping more volume abroad and lifting total sales in dollar terms even as the average export value per liter declined.

From January through September 2026, China exported 618.3 million liters of beer to all foreign markets, with a total value of $422 million, according to a Huaxia Jiubao report reproduced by Sina on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The report attributed the figures to a Chinese foreign trade chamber for agricultural and food products.

Compared with January through September 2025, export volume rose 5.32% and export value increased 3.93%. Because the increase in volume outpaced the increase in value, the average amount earned per liter fell.

Based on the published growth rates, China shipped about 31.2 million more liters of beer abroad than in the same period a year earlier and brought in roughly $16.0 million more in export revenue. Those comparisons are derived from rounded totals, so the implied changes are approximate rather than exact.

The same calculations indicate that the average export value slipped to about $0.683 per liter in January through September 2026, from about $0.692 per liter a year earlier. That is a decline of roughly 1.3%.

The figures show that stronger shipments were enough to raise overall export revenue despite the lower average return on each liter sold abroad. In practice, that means exporters moved enough additional beer to offset the decline in the implied unit value.

The data do not explain why the average value per liter fell. The published balance does not separate the effects of pricing, exchange-rate movements, or changes in the mix of destinations and types of beer exported. A lower unit value can reflect cheaper contracts, a shift toward lower-priced markets, a different product mix, or a combination of those factors.

The report cited by Sina broke out beer within China’s broader foreign trade in agricultural and food products, but it did not provide a destination-by-destination breakdown in the information released on Tuesday, Nov. 3. It also did not indicate whether the lower unit value was tied to a specific region, buyer group, or export segment such as mass-market beer versus premium brands.

Using the published growth rates, the implied base for January through September 2025 was about 587.1 million liters and about $406.0 million in export value, again subject to rounding. That comparison helps explain why export revenue still moved higher in 2026: the increase in total volume more than compensated for the drop in average value per liter.

The figures reflect trade over the first three quarters of 2026 rather than a new customs update issued on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The Sina item was a secondary report that cited the chamber’s trade balance and highlighted beer as one of the categories within it.