Georgia has exported 5,061.5 tons of beer worth US$ 4,604,400 during January-November 2020. The volume is up by 1,177.4 tons or 23.3% from the same period of the prior year. China and Israel have shown the largest growth of beer imports from Georgia. This year, Uzbekistan has emerged as the new market for Georgian beer exporters.
3,884.1 tons of beer worth US$ 3,241.2 has been exported from Georgia during Jan-Nov 2019. The volume was 5,061.5 tons worth US$4,604,400 during the same period of the previous year. With 1,326.8 tons or US$ 950,800, Russia has been the top importer country of beer from Georgia during Jan-Nov 2019. This year, the dominance from Russian market has been taken by China, in which 1,813.4 tons, US$1,852, 200 has been exported from Georgia, National Statistics Office of Georgia, says.
Following China, the top export countries of beer from Georgia during 2020 incorporated: Russia - 1,023.3 tons, US$ 723,500; Israel – 770.4 tons, US$ 905,400; Azerbaijan – 337.3 tons, US$ 320,300; Armenia – 317 tons, US$ 159, 300 and Moldova - 237.3 tons, US$ 98, 100.
The largest decline in export has been shown to Singapore. Georgia exported only 0.4 tons of beer, worth US$ 2,100 during Jan-Nov 2020, while the figure was 92.2 tons, or US$ 100, 600 during the same period of the period year.
As the y-o-y comparison shows, China has shown the largest growth of export during the current year, as compared to 2019. 1,813.4 tons of beer, US$ 1,852, 200 have been exported to China during Jan-Nov 2020, while the figure was 373 tons, US$ 439, 500 during 2019. 770.4 tons were exported to Israel this year, in which the volume stood at 442.3 during the reporting period. Almost 2.5 times has been increased export to Latvia this year, from 28.9 tons to 69.9 tons. With 54.1 tons, US$ 44, 800 Uzbekistan has been a new market for Georgian beer exporters, where the export stood at zero during the last year.
According to Euromonitor International, Lomisi JSC remained the leading player in beer in Georgia in total volume terms in 2019. This was mainly due to the leadership of its well-established Natakhtari brand in the domestic economy lager, although the company’s broad portfolio covers multiple categories and includes other popular brands, such as Kozel, Mtieli, Karva, and Kaiser.
Total volume sales of craft beer in Georgia remained low in comparison with domestic standard lager in 2019. Price is the key factor hindering the development of craft beer, as even though the economy was showing signs of developing at the end of the review period, most Georgian consumers remained conservative in their spending, the report says.
