Data published by the German Statistics Office shows that German brewers sold some 51.4m hectolitres of beer in the first half of 2003, down 4.1% from the corresponding period last year.

German brewers’ sales in Germany fell by 4.8% to 45.6m hectolitres in the first half. Sales in Germany represented 89% of brewers’ sales. Beer exports rose by 2% to 5.8m hectolitres, with sales in the EU accounting for 4.2m hectolitres.