Not too hot, not too cold; perfect for sitting outside enjoying BBQ and beer. And our part of China is pretty much perfect for doing so, for much of the year, meaning people in Nanjing and Jiangsu get through a lot of “pijiu”. But just how much? Be prepared for a shock!
Yesterday, Manbang, a major Chinese internet logistics platform, released big data showing Nanjing ranks in the top five for beer shipments nationwide.
But before we get too tipsy on that fact, the bigger picture sees Shandong Province as China’s biggest shipper of suds. Some 4.3 million tons of beer were shipped out of Shandong to all parts of the country between January and August of this year, far ahead, with a factor-of-four advantage, of its runners up; Zhejiang, Hubei, Anhui and Hebei.
That of course is down to the might of Shandong-based Tsingtao Beer, together with all its many subsidiaries.
But just who drinks the most? Manbang data shows that, by province, Shandong, Hebei, Henan, Jiangsu and Guangdong comprise the top five regional-beer consumers.
Part of that is of course down to their sizable populations, but Shandongers once again topped the list, drinking in excess of 1.86 million tonnes of beer in the 8 months to the end of August, 2023.
And as for us, Jiangsu people also stepped up to their beer-drinking responsibilities, by downing 1.06 million tonnes of the stuff.
That’s equivalent to about 1.06 billion bottles. Bottoms up, Jiangsu!
Within our Province itself, Nanjing ranks second among the top five beer-drinking cities, with Suzhou in first place, Changzhou third, Xuzhou fourth and Taizhou fifth.
Looking across the country, from the supply side, fierce competition from beer producers has meant the eastern market has become more or less saturated. Hence, there is the potential for them to increase their footprint in central and western markets, as Nanjing Daily reported this morning.
The top five regions in China returning a year-on-year increase in beer receipts comprise Tibet, up by 44 percent; Guizhou, up by 21 percent, Guangdong, up by 15 percent; Shanghai, up by 12 percent; and Fujian, up by 10 percent.
