US and China Drag Global Alcohol Consumption in H1

TBA volumes in 21 markets fall 1% year on year, with the US and China driving the global trend

IWSR mid-year data shows that global total beverage alcohol (TBA) consumption fell 1% year on year in the first half of 2026, weighed down mainly by the US and China. The data covers 21 markets that account for 76% of global TBA consumption, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, the UK and the US. China and the US are the largest markets by both volume and value, and both recorded volume declines from H1 2025 to H1 2026.

China: local spirits record a steep 12% drop

China's TBA volumes fell 3%, with local spirits recording a “steep” 12% decline. IWSR attributes the fall in China to slower growth forecasts after “decades of economic expansion”, as well as “structural headwinds” such as the prolonged property crisis and an ageing population.

US: volumes down 4%, RTDs also slip

US volumes fell 4%, and RTDs (ready-to-drink alcohol) fell 4% as well. IWSR says tariffs, inflation and economic uncertainty are affecting local consumers. IWSR also notes the impact of moderation and GLP-1 use on TBA consumption, but says “these factors alone are not enough to explain the particularly large declines in the US and China”.

Excluding the US and China, consumption rises 1%, led by India's 10% gain

Excluding the US and China, TBA consumption rose 1% in the first half of 2026. India led with a 10% volume increase, with local RTDs up 12% and Indian whisky up 4%. IWSR has previously forecast that India will overtake the US to become the world's second-largest alcohol market. Brazil's TBA volumes rose 3%, a market IWSR has said shows good spirits growth potential. Colombia rose 9%, South Africa 5% and the UK 2%; Mexico and Thailand also posted year-on-year growth.

Decline narrows markedly from the 2024-2025 period

Although combined TBA volumes across the 21 markets fell 1%, which IWSR calls a “significant decline for the industry”, the performance marked a “clear improvement” on H1 2024 to H1 2025, when TBA volumes fell 2%. Germany, Japan, Italy, France, Poland and Australia remained in decline but fell less than a year earlier; Spain, Taiwan and the US posted declines similar to H1 2025; China, Russia, Canada, the Philippines and the Netherlands saw their declines widen.

Category performance diverges: no-alcohol beer up 8%, wine down 4%

By category, Indian whisky grew 4% globally while local spirits fell 11%; full-strength beer, the world's largest category, fell 1%, wine fell 4%, no-alcohol beer rose 8% and Prosecco rose 3%. RTDs in the UK and Colombia surged 25% and 110% respectively.

IWSR president: US and Chinese consumers increasingly out of step with the rest of the world

Marten Lodewijks, president and managing director of IWSR, said: “In the first half of 2026, global TBA consumption diverged at both market and category level. Moderation is becoming a structural feature, yet several key markets such as India and Brazil continue to grow strongly. Likewise, while larger traditional categories such as still wine and full-strength beer keep TBA volumes in negative territory, growth in RTDs and no-alcohol beer has partly offset the impact in most markets. The global TBA market is anything but uniform, but the latest data show that consumers in the US and China are increasingly out of step with the rest of the world. That poses a challenge for the industry, because these two markets are the largest by both volume and value.”

April data: spirits were the “worst-performing” category in 2025

In April, IWSR data showed that spirits were the “worst-performing” category in 2025, with TBA volumes down 2% over the year.

📅 Published: 2026-11-10

🔗 Source: The Spirits Business