Wine, beer consumption up despite pandemic

Consumers choose wine products at a local supermarket. The country’s wine and beer consumption rose last year despite the Covid-19 pandemic – PHOTO: VNA

A Vietnamese person consumed an average of 1.3 liters of wine and beer per month in 2020, higher than the 0.9 liter in 2018, despite the outbreak and transmission of Covid-19, according to the General Statistics Office.

The office’s survey on the living standards in 2020 showed that the wine and beer volumes consumed monthly by the richest and poorest households were 2.4 and 1.3 liters, respectively, Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper reported.

In addition, the volume of wine and beer consumed in urban areas was lower than that of rural areas, at 1.2 and 1.3 liters, respectively.

The General Statistics Office also announced that consumers’ average monthly spending reached VND2.89 million, up 13% over 2018, lower than the 18% in 2018, due to lower incomes triggered by Covid-19.

Households in urban areas spent some VND3.8 million monthly on average, while those in rural areas spent VND2.4 million on average.

The southeastern region, with the highest monthly per capita income, reported the highest spending of households at VND3.9 million, rising 17.3% against 2018. Meanwhile, the average spending of the northern midland and mountainous region, which posted the lowest monthly per capita income, was also the lowest in the country, at VND2.1 million.

The General Statistics Office’s survey, conducted on nearly 47,000 households nationwide, was aimed at assessing the living standards, incomes and gap between the rich and poor in the country.