Beer sales in Finland continued to decline in 2022, according to figures published on Friday by the Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry.
In 2022, member companies of the federation sold a total of almost 334 million litres of beer, a year-on-year drop of almost four percent.
However, total sales of non-alcoholic beverages increased by over three percent compared to the previous year.
The beverage lobby wrote in its press release that beer sales in Finland have declined for several years in a row and that trend continues, with 2022 sales 58 million litres less than they were 10 years ago.
"High taxation has led people to order drinks online and bring them as tourists' imports from Estonia. Beer sales have been falling for several years, while at the same time tourists' imports are on the rise and it is mostly beer ordered online. We cannot afford to raise the alcohol tax if we want people to continue to be employed and produce beer in Finland," said Tuula Loikkanen, CEO of the Federation of the Brewing and Soft Drinks Industry.
Post-pandemic recovery
Beer sales in bars and restaurants collapsed during 2020 and 2021 due to Covid restrictions, dropping to just over eight percent of member firms total sales.
Last year, sales bumped up to over 12 percent, but have still not recovered to pre-pandemic levels as in 2019 when nearly 14 percent of total sales came from bars and restaurants.
Member companies of the federation include Hartwall, MBH Breweries, Momentin Group, Olvi, Red Bull and Sinebrychoff. Together, the companies account for roughly 90 percent of domestic beer sales in Finland.
Would you like a roundup of the week's top stories in your inbox every Thursday? Then sign up to receive our weekly email.