Greece exported roughly 1.3 times more beer than it brought in during 2025, according to new trade figures published by Eurostat, which show the country shipped out close to 45 million liters of beer while importing about 34 million.
The gap places Greece in an unusual position within the bloc. The country ranked 15th among the 27 EU member states for beer exports last year, yet fell to 23rd for beer imports, meaning it sends out far more of it than it brings in from abroad, even though its overall trade volumes remain modest compared to Europe’s biggest beer traders.
Both figures slipped compared with 2024. Greece’s beer imports dipped by about 1%, while its beer exports dropped by a steeper 3.6%, narrowing the country’s export advantage from roughly 1.36 times its imports to 1.32. The decline mirrors a broader slowdown in beer trade recorded across the European Union last year.
Europe’s beer exports drop while imports from outside the bloc climb
Across the bloc as a whole, the EU sent 3.2 billion liters of alcoholic beer to countries outside the union in 2025, an 11% drop from the year before, while bringing in 0.5 billion liters from non-EU nations, a 6% rise, Eurostat mentioned.
When trade between EU countries is also take into account, the bloc’s 27 members exported a combined 7.6 billion liters of beer in 2025, down from 8.3 billion liters in 2024, and imported 4.7 billion liters, down from 4.9 billion. Against those totals, Greece’s trade is small, although its habit of exporting more beer than it imports has held steady.
Among individual countries, Belgium led all beer exporters with 1.5 billion liters shipped both within and outside the bloc, followed by the Netherlands at 1.4 billion liters and Germany at 1.3 billion. Czechia and Ireland tied for the next spot, each exporting 0.6 billion liters.
Greece’s beer imports trail far behind EU’s leading importers
In terms of imports, France topped the list with 0.9 billion liters brought in, ahead of Italy at more than 0.7 billion liters. Germany and Spain each imported 0.6 billion liters, while the Netherlands brought in 0.3 billion liters.
None of those larger economies showed the same export-to-import balance as Greece, where outbound beer shipments have consistently outpaced what comes through the country’s ports.
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