In 2017, Vietnamese people spent nearly US$4 billion on beer, according to Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien. 

Also last year, around 305 million liters of spirits and nearly 4.1 billion liters of beer were consumed, which means each Vietnamese consumed an average of 42 liters of beer, Tien said at a hearing held by the National Assembly on November 9 on the draft law on alcohol harm prevention.  

At the current rate, Vietnam ranked third in Asia in terms of volume of beer consumed in 2017, only behind Japan and China, and was at the top in the Southeast Asia. 

Referring to the World Health Organization statistics, Tien stated that total costs attributable to alcohol ranged from 1.3% to 3.3% of GDP, in which the indirect cost doubled the direct cost. 

In Vietnam, if such calculation is taken into account, the financial damage at the lowest cost of 1.3% of GDP would be VND65 trillion (US$2.77 billion). 

Tien added that the treatment of six types of cancer caused by alcohol in 2017 cost nearly VND26 trillion (US$1.1 billion), accounting for 0.25 of the country's GDP, while cost of dealing with alcohol related traffic accidents accounted for 1% of GDP, or VND50 trillion (US$2.13 billion). 

According to the draft law, it is prohibited to advertise spirits and beer which has an alcohol content of 15 degrees or advertisement which invites people under 18 years of age to consume alcoholic products. 

Additionally, the draft law also proposes banning sale of beer and liquor at vending machines. 

Saigon Alcohol Beer and Beverage (Sabeco), Vietnam’s largest brewer, produced 1.77 billion  liters of beer in 2017, an increase of 6.6% year-on-year, while that of the domestic second largest brewer, Hanoi Alcohol Beer and Beverage (Habeco), stood at 657.6 million liters, down 6.5% over the last year period.

In 2017, brewers in Vietnam contributed VND50 trillion (US$2.13 billion) to the state budget, doubling the figure 3 years earlier.

The beer industry expects to produce 4.1 billion liters in the next 4 years, and up to 4.6 billion liters in 2025, according to the Vietnam Beer Alcohol and Beverage Association (VBA). By 2035, this number is expected to reach 5.6 billion liters. Accordingly, beer production in the next two decades will be 1.5 times higher the  beer output in 2017.

Hanoitimes