Latvia’s beer market falls 22% in nine years as tax and cost pressures rise
Beer released for consumption in Latvia fell from 150.89 million litres in 2016 to about 117.64 million litres in 2025, a decline of roughly 22%. Local output also contracted as brewers faced higher excise duties, rising production costs and increasingly price-sensitive consumers.
Volumes resume their decline after a brief increase
Latvia’s beer market has contracted substantially over the past decade, putting pressure on domestic brewers, distributors and their suppliers. Data on excise goods circulation from Latvia’s State Revenue Service, cited by Delfi, show that 150.89 million litres of beer were released for consumption in 2016. By 2025, the volume had fallen to about 117.64 million litres, a reduction of roughly 22% over nine years.
The market recorded a brief increase in 2024, but this did not reverse the longer-term direction. Beer circulation fell again by about 6% in 2025. Compared with the decade’s highest point, the current market is more than one-quarter smaller. The latest figures indicate that the contraction is continuing: in the first six months of 2026, the volume released for consumption was 5.4% below the level recorded in the first half of 2025.
Domestic production and profitability weaken
Local production has followed a similar trajectory. Latvia produced 85.65 million litres of beer in 2015, compared with 68.54 million litres in 2025. That represents a decline of approximately 20% over ten years, reducing the volume available to support brewing capacity, employment and demand across the agricultural, packaging, logistics and other supplier segments.
According to Delfi, brewers’ 2025 annual reports also show declines in aggregate turnover and profit. Companies are therefore selling less while earning less from the products they do sell. Their reports identify falling beer sales, greater consumer sensitivity to prices and higher costs for raw materials, labour, energy and other resources.
Brewers have sought to absorb the pressure through efficiency improvements, price adjustments, new products and expansion into other beverage categories. These measures may help individual companies protect revenue or utilise production assets, but their scope is limited when the core beer category continues to shrink. Higher retail prices could further weaken demand among price-conscious consumers, while accepting lower margins would restrict funds available for investment and capacity maintenance.
Excise increases add to the pressure
Excise policy is becoming a central issue for the industry. Latvia has raised beer duties several times in recent years. From 2026, the minimum rate is €10.58 per 100 litres, and a further increase to €11.06 per 100 litres is planned for 1 March 2027. New restrictions governing the circulation of alcoholic beverages also took effect on 1 August 2025.
The tax increases have fiscal and public-health objectives, but they leave producers with a narrow set of commercial responses: raise prices, cut costs or accept lower profit. The pressure is particularly acute because the duty per litre is increasing while the taxable market volume is declining. For domestic brewers, predictable tax policy will be important when deciding whether to invest, preserve capacity or develop alternatives to traditional beer. For distributors and suppliers, further contraction would mean lower throughput and more intense competition for a smaller pool of sales. The figures reported by Delfi point to a market in which efficiency and product diversification can slow the financial impact, but cannot by themselves restore lost consumption or production volumes.
