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 litres of beer while importing about 34 million litres.
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 the drink than it brings in from abroad, even though its overall trade volumes remain modest next 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 to 1.32 times. 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 litres of alcoholic beer to countries outside the union in 2025, an 11% drop from the year before, while bringing in 0.5 billion litres from non-EU nations, a 6% rise, Eurostat mentioned.
When trade between EU countries is counted too, the bloc’s 27 members exported a combined 7.6 billion litres of beer in 2025, down from 8.3 billion litres in 2024, and imported 4.7 billion litres, down from 4.9 billion litres. Against those totals, Greece’s trade is small, though its habit of exporting more beer than it imports has held steady.
Among individual countries, Belgium led all beer exporters with 1.5 billion litres shipped both within and outside the bloc, followed by the Netherlands at 1.4 billion litres and Germany at 1.3 billion litres. Czechia and Ireland tied for the next spot, each exporting 0.6 billion litres.
Greece’s beer imports trail far behind the EU’s leading importers
On the import side, France topped the list with 0.9 billion litres brought in, ahead of Italy at more than 0.7 billion litres. Germany and Spain each imported 0.6 billion litres, while the Netherlands brought in 0.3 billion litres.
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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