World Cup Glory Lifts German Beer Sales

German beer brewers reported their first increase in sales in almost a decade, helped by strong consumption during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Just like in the football tournament, champions also changed in the industry.



Germany's Federal Statistics Office said Friday that 95.6 million hectoliters - that's over 9.5 billion liters - of beer were brewed in Germany last year. That was about 1 million hectoliters more than in the previous year and the first increase in sales since 2006, Destatis added.



According to : Destatis data#, about 83 percent of the total amount was consumed in Germany, where sales went up by 0.4 percent in 2014. Some 15.6 million hectoliters, or about 17 percent, were exported, meaning sales abroad rose by 4.4 percent.



The drinks industry's publication "Inside" noted recently that the rise in domestic beer consumption in 2014 was partly due to Germany winning last year's FIFA Soccer World Cup in Brazil. Also, a relatively warm summer had played a role.



Brewers in the regional state of Bavaria benefited most from the upswing in consumption, the statistics shows, unseating their rivals from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in the sales tables. German market shares in 2014 were 24.2 percent for the Bavarians versus 23.2 percent for the Westphalians.



2014 brand rankings saw Oettinger Breweries in top spot with sales of 5.62 million hectoliters, ahead of Krombacher and Bitburger, according to "Inside."



uhe/ng (dpa, AFP)