China boosts world dominance in beer brewing

MUNICH, Germany - China, already the world's top beer-producing country, has boosted its market dominance, according to a German study released Tuesday.

The world's most populous country produced 22.0 percent of the global beer supply last year, versus 20.6 percent the year before, the study commissioned by German hop trader Joh. Barth and Sohn showed.

It brewed nearly 394 million frothy hectolitres, marking an 11.8-percent jump in output.

Global beer production hit 1.8 billion hectolitres, 5.2 percent higher than last year, according to the study presented in the southern city of Munich, home to Germany's annual Oktoberfest beer festival.

Germany, which has the highest per capita beer consumption on the planet, saw beer production fall two percent to 105 million hectolitres -- placing it fourth among beer brewing countries behind China, the United States and Russia.

Russia, Ukraine and Vietnam also saw robust growth in the beer sector.