Russia’s beer imports rise 37% to 205 million liters in January-July 2026
Russia imported 205 million liters of beer in January-July 2026, up 37% year on year. Belarus supplied 73% of the volume, while Russian beer production fell 2.4% in the first half.
Imports reach 205 million liters
Russia’s beer imports increased sharply in the first seven months of 2026, while domestic output declined. Total inbound volume reached 205 million liters in January-July, representing a 37% increase from the same period of 2025.
Consumption of imported beer rose by 27.5% year on year to 170.2 million liters. The reported value of that volume was 51.8 billion rubles. The difference between the 205 million liters brought into the country and the 170.2 million liters consumed may reflect inventories, timing between customs clearance and sales, or other movements within the distribution chain, although the available figures do not specify the reason.
Belarus controls 73% of supply
Belarus was by far the largest foreign supplier, shipping 150.2 million liters and accounting for 73% of total Russian beer imports. China ranked second with 27.2 million liters, equivalent to 13% of the market. Together, the two countries supplied 177.4 million liters, or about 87% of the reported import volume.
Kazakhstan, Armenia, the Czech Republic and Serbia followed in the supplier ranking, but no individual volumes were provided for those origins. The supplier mix indicates that Russia’s imported beer market is concentrated among Belarus and China, with neighboring countries and selected European producers serving smaller portions of demand.
Germany fell to eighth place after supplying 1 million liters, equal to 0.5% of total imports. Deliveries from Belgium amounted to 271,000 liters, while Ireland supplied 9,200 liters. These volumes show the limited role of several traditional Western European brewing countries in Russia’s current import structure.
Domestic beer production declines
The expansion in foreign supply coincided with lower Russian production. Domestic breweries produced 459 million decaliters in the first half of 2026, down 2.4% from the corresponding period of 2025. One decaliter equals 10 liters, putting first-half output at 4.59 billion liters.
In June alone, Russian production declined by 1.1% year on year to 90.7 million decaliters, or 907 million liters. Although domestic output remains much larger than the seven-month import volume, the opposing trends are commercially significant. Importers and distributors are handling more foreign beer while local brewers are producing less than a year earlier.
Belarusian suppliers are the clearest beneficiaries because their 150.2 million liters exceeded the combined reported volume from all other origins. Chinese brewers have also secured a substantial position with a 13% share. For Russian producers, the figures point to stronger competition in imported segments even though foreign beer still represents a relatively small volume compared with national production.
