Alcohol sales will increase by more than 2% by volume in Asia and the Pacific by the end of 2021.
“Apart from wine, each major alcohol category is forecast to post volume growth in the region, with spirits increasing 0.5% and the ready-to-drink (RTD) sector up 6%. Beer is predicted to rise by 2% and cider will grow by 1%”.
Although in 2020 there was an 8% decline in the volume of alcoholic beverages, the forecasts for 2021 are very encouraging. Alcohol sales in general are expected to increase by more than 2% and that they will be able to return to pre-covid levels by 2025. All of this will be supported by e-commerce, the growth of RTDs, strong domestic consumption in Key Countries and the resilience of Countries like China and Australia.
In Australia in 2020 alcohol sales in general increased by 3% (best performance in Asia-Pacific). The most popular categories were RTDs and spirits, which have seen significant growth in the last year. Beer registered a +3% while wine decreased.
“China’s alcohol sales fell by almost 6% in 2020 due to its reliance on the on-trade, but it is predicted to rise by nearly 4% this year. IWSR noted the positive performance of flavoured spirits and RTDs, as well as single malts, the latter of which rose 20% in 2020”.
In Japan, sales fell by about 5% last year, but are expected to return to pre-covid levels by 2024 with annual growth of 2%. The best performances were recorded by the RTD category, with 12% in 2020; for 2021 a growth of 6% in volume is expected. Additionally, RTD sales in Japan alone account for approximately 20% of the entire RTD market.
While the overall alcohol market in the Philippines recorded a decline in 2020, spirtis increased by 2% (gin by 7%) and wine by 3%. For 2021, this market is expected to experience a 7% increase in volume, returning to pre-covid levels by 2023.
“Singapore’s alcohol market fell by 9% in 2020 due to beer, which makes up more than 80% of beverage consumption in the country. IWSR forecasts that total alcohol volume in the market will increase by about 4%, returning to pre-pandemic volumes by 2022”.
The full article of The Spirits Business is available here.