Skip to main content
Trade

Belgium - South American drinkers get a taste for Belgian beer

EU trade deals give small Belgian breweries access to new markets

Country or region
Andean Community
Trade topics
Exporters' stories
EU exporter
Belgium

The 2013 EU trade deal with Columbia and Peru eliminated customs duties on beer from the EU and made rules for selling beer clearer. Belgium’s family-owned Huyghe Brewery has taken advantage of the simplified administrative requirements, posting substantial profits as a result.

Belgium's 168 breweries make more than 1,500 types of beer, of which 10% are produced by family-owned breweries such as Huyghe, founded in 1902 in Melle, Flanders. Delirium Tremens, Huyghe's flagship beer, is exported worldwide and accounts for 40% of the brewery's turnover. It is easily recognisable by its pink elephant symbol and white bottle.

Colombians and Peruvians are getting a taste for craft and foreign beer, whose market share stands at 2% and rising. In 2015, Huyghe's exports to Colombia went up by 100% in volume and 73% in value. This has helped keep the firm profitable.

More than 4,500 people work in the Belgian beer industry and a further 45,000 have jobs that depend on it. Over 60% of Belgium’s beer is sold abroad with exports four times higher than in 1990.

Discover more about the EU’s trade relations with Colombia and Peru