Latin America and Middle East Beer Market: Snapshot

A high percentage of obese population and increasing incidence of coronary diseases in Latin America and Middle East is benefitting the sales of beer for health reasons. As per statistics of the World Health Organization (WHO), almost 64.9% of the population was obese in Latin America in 2013. The proportion of obese population stood at 55.6% of the total population in the Middle East in 2010, as per WHO. The consumption of beer helps prevent coronary diseases. This is because the low cholesterol and low fat content of beer help prevent high cholesterol diseases.

Factors such as rapid urbanization and rising disposable income of individuals in Latin America and the Middle East are also driving the beer market in these regions. Changing lifestyle, especially among the youth, and adoption of Western food habits is accentuating the demand for beer in the Latin America and Middle East. In addition, the development of organic beer is anticipated to augment the consumption of beer in these regions.

The Latin America beer market will expand at a CAGR of 4.4% between 2015 and 2021 increasing from US$57 bn in 2014 to US$77.1 bn by 2021 in terms of revenue. In terms of volume, the Latin America will increase from 20,191.6 million liters to 24,847.9 million liters by 2021 at a CAGR of 3.1% between 2015 and 2021.

On the other hand, the Middle East beer market will display a CAGR of 4.3% between 2015 and 2021 to increase from US$3.5 bn in 2014 to US$4.8 bn by 2021. By volume, the Middle East beer market is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 2.1% between 2015 and 2021 and increase from 1,044.3 million liters in 2014 to 1,209.4 million liters by 2021.

Increasing Awareness of Health Benefits of Beer Gives Impetus to Latin America and Middle East Beer Market

The presence of religious prohibitions of the Islamic sect that are governed by state laws has banned the consumption of alcohol in certain parts of Middle East such as Saudi Arabia among others. This has resulted the Middle East beer market to be predominantly consuming non-alcoholic beer. However, in some parts of Middle East such as the UAE and Egypt among others, alcoholic beer is consumed. In 2014, the UAE and Egypt collectively held 40.62% of the Middle East beer market.

On the other hand, in Latin America, there are no such strict restrictions, so the consumer base for alcoholic beer is higher than that of non-alcoholic beer. The rising awareness regarding the health benefits of beer and favorable climatic conditions are leading to an increased consumption of beer in this region. At present, Brazil dominates the Latin America market and held 60.2% of the market in 2014.

Lager Beer Major Product Segment of Latin America and Middle East Beer Market

The product segments of the Latin America and Middle East beer market are stout beer, non-alcoholic beer, lager beer, and dark beer. Amongst these, the lager beer segment holds the largest share in the Latin America and Middle East beer market in terms of revenue. The lager beer product segment is expected to expand at 4.40% CAGR between 2015 and 2021 in the Latin America beer market. The lager beer product segment is expected to display a CAGR of 3.50% between 2015 and 2021 in the Middle East beer market.

Some of the leading players operating in the Latin America and Middle East beer market are Anheuser-Busch InBev, Heineken N.V., SABMiller Plc, and AmBev S.A., and Carlsberg Group.