China to Overtake US as Leading Beer Producer

China is expected to overtake the US within the next two or three years to become the world's leading beer producer and marketer, said Sun Jie, an official of the State Administration of Light Industry.

Attending a trade fair in this capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province, Sun said that the per capita consumption of beer in China is less than 18 kg, below the world's average, suggesting a huge potential for future growth.

He said that China will be able to produce 22 million tons of beer this year, a figure slightly less than the record output of 23 million tons of the United States in 1997. Last year, China turned out 20.88 million tons of beer, ranking closely behind the US.

China's beer production has been surging at an annual rate of 25 percent in the past decade, a phenomenal rate compared with other countries. Last year, the Tsingtao and Yanjing breweries each passed the one million ton mark in annual output. While beer witnessed unprecedented growth, the liquor market has been withering. Last year, China produced 5.02 million tons of liquor, down 14 percent from the previous year.

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