However, Total Beer Sales By Retail Outlets Fell 1.4% To $9.2 Billion In The 2020/2021 Fiscal Year
OTTAWA: Beer remained the alcoholic beverage of choice for Canadians in 2020/2021, accounting for just over one-third (36.0%) of total alcohol sales. However, total beer sales by liquor stores, agencies and other retail outlets fell 1.4% to $9.2 billion in the 2020/2021 fiscal year, the second consecutive annual decrease, according to figures released by Statistics Canada.
Beer sales per person reached a new low in 2020/2021. By volume, beer sales declined 2.3% to 2,120 million litres, which is equivalent to 3.9 standard bottles of beer per week, per person of legal drinking age. This was a record low for beer volume sales per person since Statistics Canada began tracking alcohol sales in 1949.
StatCan said that in In January 2021, two-thirds (66%) of Canadians aged 15 and older, or nearly 21 million people, reported consuming alcohol at least once in the previous 30 days. “For the majority of these people, their alcohol consumption level was moderate. Overall, 32% had one drink on the days they consumed alcohol during the 30-day period, and 31% had two drinks.”
“Close to one in five Canadians (18%) consumed five or more drinks—the equivalent of a bottle of wine—on the days that they consumed alcohol in January 2021. This was up from 11% prior to the pandemic in 2017.”
The StatCan report said that Canadians bought $1.8 billion worth of ciders and coolers in 2020/2021, up 40.2% from the previous fiscal year – the largest increase of any beverage category since Statistics Canada began tracking alcohol sales in 1949. Sales grew in all provinces and territories.
Residents of Yukon (12.3% of total sales) were the most likely to buy ciders and coolers, while those of Quebec (1.6%) were the least likely to do so.
In terms of volume, 330.5 million litres of ciders and coolers were sold in 2020/2021, up 39.5% from the previous fiscal year.