Dec 23, 2007, 13:44 GMT
Berlin - A poor summer and an ageing population dragged German per capita beer consumption down to a record low of 112.5 litres in 2007, the country's brewing association said Sunday.
Association chief Peter Hahn predicted little or no improvement in the year ahead. 'We will have to get used to long-term declines in consumption figures,' he told the Welt newspaper.
The 2007 figure was 3.5 litres down on that for 2006, which was boosted by Germany's hosting of the Football World Cup, and confirmed a trend that set in a decade ago.
According to figures compiled by the Japanese brewing company Kirin, Germany is third on the list of per capita beer consumption, behind the Czech Republic and Ireland.
Hahn predicted the decline would begin to hurt the 1,284 breweries in Germany - more than in any other country. While no closures were likely in the immediate future, there would probably be mergers and acquisitions, he said.
'We are going to see an increased concentration in favour of the larger brewing companies, Hahn said.
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