Less but higher quality alcoholic drinks are sold

Alcoholic beverages constitute a special market in Hungary as spirits, wines and beers have a one-third share of the market each. Wine consumption has declined recently and the annual average was 24 litres per person. In parallel with this trend, a culture of quality wine consumption has been taking shape. Hungarians drink 10 litres less beer than a coupe of years ago. Consumption has been declining for years but breweries are now hopeful that the results of the late spring-early autumn period – when the weather was warm and dry – will take annual per capita consumption above 60 litres. As for spirits, the most important development in 2011 was that the government made the selling of home distilled pálinka easier: those with a family farm licence are allowed to sell their spirits at the marketplace – although these distillates also have to be bottled and affixed with excise stamp.