Beer Statistics 2015: Brewing industry grows in Europe – fewer jobs in the industry in Finland

The Beer Statistics 2015 show that beer production and its value chain have grown in Europe. The Brewers of Europe, the umbrella organisation of European brewers’ associations, has released its Beer Statistics 2015, which present the key figures from 2014 and trends since 2009.

The beer sector is a key actor in creating new jobs, a major objective of the Europe 2020 Growth Strategy. In 2014, the number of jobs directly involved in the beer industry rose by 3.4% from 2013.

“This is highly significant, since each of these jobs generates further jobs throughout the value chain ‘from grain to glass’ in areas such as hospitality, supply, brewing and retail,” says Pierre-Olivier Bergeron, Secretary-General of The Brewers of Europe.

There are now 7000 active breweries in the EU, double the number in 2008. In 2014 alone, 700 new breweries were opened, a year-on-year increase of 12%.

“The opening of so many new breweries is not only a sign of the confidence and trust Europeans have in the sector. It also testifies to the enthusiasm consumers have for the diversity of the product,” says Bergeron.

Beer is booming in Finland and the number of brewery permits has doubled from 2008 to 2014, as in the rest of Europe. However, unlike elsewhere in Europe, jobs in the industry have not seen growth; on the contrary, 4.6% of jobs directly involved in breweries were lost from 2013 to 2014 in spite of the substantial growth in the number of breweries. During the same period, domestic sales of beer decreased by 2.2%.

The success of the industry is dependent on industrial and alcohol policy. European brewers call for a competitive taxation regime.

“The European brewing industry is on a good growth track, but this is not the case in Finland. Domestic tax policy has steered consumers to buy their beverages either online or from Estonia instead of from the Finnish market,” says Elina Ussa, Managing Director of the Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry.

Finland’s current alcohol tax legislation does not support the favourable development of the industry, but instead serves as a model example of overregulation.

“The ongoing comprehensive reform of the Alcohol Act provides a great opportunity to align the regulation of the industry more closely with the rest of Europe,” says Ussa.

Additional information:
Managing Director Elina Ussa, tel. +358 (0)45 269 7711
Communications Manager Outi Heikkinen, tel. +358 (0)50 370 8677

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