Alcohol available for consumption: Year ended December 2022
Alcohol available for consumption statistics provide information on the volume of alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, spirits, and spirit-based drinks) available for consumption in New Zealand.
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Key facts
All comparisons are between the year ended December 2022 and the year ended December 2021, except where otherwise stated.
The total volume of alcoholic beverages available for consumption was little changed, down 0.3 percent to 498 million litres.
- The volume of beer rose 0.5 percent to 294 million litres.
- The volume of wine fell 5.9 percent to 101 million litres.
- The volume of spirits (including spirit-based drinks) rose 3.2 percent to 103 million litres.
- The equivalent total volume of pure alcohol in all alcoholic beverages for consumption fell 0.7 percent.
- The volume of available alcohol, expressed in terms of the number of equivalent standard drinks per person aged 18 years and over fell 1.0 percent to 1.96 per person per day.
Volume of alcoholic beverages stable
The total volume of alcoholic beverages available for consumption was little changed, down 0.3 percent to 498 million litres in 2022. This follows a rise of 0.9 percent in 2021, and a rise of 0.8 percent in 2020.
As a proportion of the total volume of alcoholic beverages available for consumption, between 2008 and 2022:
- beer decreased from 66 percent to 59 percent
- wine increased from 19 percent to 20 percent
- spirits and spirit-based drinks increased from 14 percent to 21 percent.
Beer volume up 0.5 percent
The total volume of beer available for consumption rose 0.5 percent to 294 million litres in 2022. This follows falls of 0.2 percent in 2021, and 1.7 percent in 2020.
The changes in volume in each of the four categories of beer, according to alcoholic content were:
- up to 2.5 percent alcohol – fell 12 percent, to 6.9 million litres
- between 2.5 and 4.35 percent – fell 21 percent, to 76 million litres
- between 4.35 and 5 percent – rose 26 percent, to 177 million litres
- above 5 percent – fell 29 percent, to 34 million litres.
The volume of beer with more than 5 percent alcohol fell for the first time since 2014, to reach 34 million litres.
Of the total volume of beer available for consumption in 2022, 83 percent was produced in New Zealand and 17 percent was imported.
In addition to the volume of beer produced in New Zealand that is available for local consumption, 20 million litres of beer were exported in 2022. This is unchanged from the quantity exported in 2021.
Wine volume down 5.9 percent
The total volume of wine available for consumption in 2022 fell 5.9 percent to 101 million litres. This follows a fall of 4.9 percent in 2021, and a rise of 4.3 percent in 2020.
Categories of wine by alcohol content:
- total table wine (wine with an alcohol content up to 14 percent) fell 5.8 percent to 101 million litres
- total fortified wine (wine with an alcohol content greater than 14 percent) fell 17 percent to 506,000 litres, following a 39 percent rise in 2021.
Categories of wine by ingredient:
- wine made from grapes fell 5.3 percent to 84 million litres
- wine made from other fruit and vegetables, or flavoured with other aromatic substances, fell 8 percent, to 17 million litres. *Up to 90 percent by volume of beverages domestically produced in this category are cider.
* 3 March 2023: We updated this sentence to clarify information about cider.
Of the total volume of wine available for consumption in 2022, 70 percent was produced in New Zealand and 30 percent was imported.
In addition to the volume of wine produced in New Zealand that is available for local consumption, 196 million litres of wine was exported in 2022. This was an 11 percent increase from 2021, when 176 million litres were exported.
Volume of spirits and spirit-based drinks up 3.2 percent
The total volume of spirits and spirit-based drinks available for consumption in 2022 rose 3.2 percent from 2021, to 103 million litres, following rises of 12 percent in 2021, and 5.3 percent in 2020.
The changes by volume of the two categories were
- spirit-based drinks (containing up to 23 percent alcohol, such as ready-to-drink beverages (RTDs)), up 3.8 percent to 87 million litres
- spirits (containing more than 23 percent alcohol, such as vodka, gin, and whisky), little change, remaining at 16 million litres.
The volume of spirit-based drinks rose for the eighth year in a row; the volume of spirits rose for the seventh year in a row.
Volume of pure alcohol fell 0.7 percent
The total volume of pure alcohol is a measure of the equivalent amount of alcohol in all alcoholic beverages available for consumption, after taking account of the different alcohol contents of the various categories of beer, wine, and spirits.
The total volume of pure alcohol in alcoholic beverages available for consumption fell 0.7 percent. This followed a 0.8 percent rise in 2021, and a 2.0 percent rise in 2020.
Of the main categories of alcoholic beverage, the total volume of pure alcohol in:
- beer rose 1.4 percent
- wine fell 5.7 percent
- spirits (including spirit-based drinks) rose 1.7 percent
- spirits (with more than 23 percent alcohol content) rose 0.4 percent
- spirit-based drinks (with not more than 23 percent alcohol content) rose 3.2 percent.
The proportions of pure alcohol in the various alcoholic beverages available for consumption have changed over time.
Between 2008 and 2022, the proportion available from:
- beer decreased from 43 percent to 37 percent
- wine decreased from 32 percent to 29 percent
- spirits (including spirit-based drinks) increased from 25 percent to 34 percent.
Fewer standard drinks available per person
The total volume of pure alcohol in alcoholic beverages available for consumption can be expressed in terms of the number of standard drinks available on a per capita basis.
A standard drink contains 10 grams of alcohol.
In 2022, the average number of standard drinks available per person was:
- 1.96 standard drinks a day (per person aged 18+), down 1.0 percent from 2021, following a 0.3 percent increase from 2020
- 1.87 standard drinks a day (per person aged 15+), down 1.1 percent from 2021, following a 0.3 percent increase from 2020.
In 2022, the volume of alcohol available per person aged 18 years and over (as measured by the number of standard drinks) was 11 percent below the latest series peak in 2010.
Access data in Infoshare
Use Infoshare to view and download time-series data for alcohol available for consumption:
Subject category: Industry sectors
Group: Alcohol available for consumption – ALC
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Data updates and corrections
This release includes an update to previously published data spanning the quarters from March 2020 to June 2021. This update is the result of a correction to goods exports data, including alcoholic beverages, spanning the same period, previously published in December 2022.
Overseas merchandise trade: November 2022 has more information about this correction.
We have also made a correction to the series ‘Litres of Alcohol Per Head of Population - by alcohol type (Annual-Dec) - Total N.Z. Population 15 Years and Over for Total Beer’ in Infoshare, covering the period from 2004 to 2018. The data tables and csv in the Alcohol available for consumption: Year ended December 2021 release were not affected.
Definitions and metadata
Alcohol available for consumption – DataInfo+ provides the general methodology used to produce statistics about alcohol available for consumption, the definitions of terms used in this release, and related metadata.
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ISSN 2230-3278
Next release
Alcohol available for consumption: March 2023 quarter – Infoshare tables will be released on 23 May 2023.
