The Netherlands is home to some of the highest-profile beer brands on the planet - among them Heineken, Grolsch and Amstel.
But the Dutch are losing their taste for beer, recent sales figures indicate.
Dutch beer sales have dipped 5.1% at home, the Nederlandse Brouwers organisation reported. The figures for non-alcoholic beers were worse: down 9.4%.
The Dutch brewers association says the decline in beer sales is due to an 8.4% increase in excise duty on alcoholic beer and an almost 200% increase in consumption tax for non-alcoholic beer, pushing prices up, the drinks business news portal reported.
The association also identified that people also notably drank less due to the poor weather, which led to fewer opportunities for barbecues and drinking in pub gardens.
Nederlandse Brouwers said it was concerned about the sudden drop in non-alcoholic beer consumption in particular and has called upon its government to scrap the tax in a bid to support the industry.
On January 1, 2024, the Dutch government increased consumption tax on non-alcoholic drinks from €8.83 per hectolitre to €26.13 per hectolitre.
“Now that the holiday season has arrived, we hope people will go to the terrace or beach more often to drink a beer together," said Nederlandse Brouwers chairman Fred Teevan.
"Or enjoy the many beautiful beers brewed by Dutch brewers during a barbecue. It would be nice if we finally had a longer period of sunny weather. In any case, breweries are ready to respond to a beautiful summer.”
Image: Kapil Tejwani, Scop.io
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