Alcohol consumption fell by almost 11% in the first half of 2021
Print7 September 2021
Alcohol consumption fell by 10.8% in the first half of 2021, compared with the same period last year, research from Revenue Clearance found.
While the fall is a result of the closure of the hospitality industry, according to Drinks Ireland, this is also in line which with the long-term trend of consumption declining in Ireland.
The figures show that beer and cider sales were the hardest hit, down by 15% and 13% respectively. Typically, around 60% of beer sales and 45% of cider sales are in Ireland’s pubs, restaurants, and hotels.
However, consumption was down across all categories, with wine consumption down by 11.5% and spirits down by 0.3%.
The new figures confirm that alcohol consumption declined dramatically as a result of Covid-19. The figures from the first half of 2021 are down by 14.1% compared with the same period in 2019, before the pandemic hit.
“While the decline in alcohol consumption was accelerated by Covid-19, it should be noted that it is in line with the trend of consumption falling generally in Ireland over the past 30 years,” said Patricia Callan, director of Drinks Ireland. “The average alcohol consumption in 2020 was 29.8% lower than the peak of 2001. Overall, alcohol consumption declined last year by 6.6% to its lowest level in thirty years.”
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