British Columbians are spending much less money on alcohol, despite inflation.
That may in some cases mean that they are buying cheaper brands, but overall those buyers are also purchasing much less alcohol by volume, according to new British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch (BCLDB) data.
The government-run alcohol distribution monopoly released data for wholesale sales to pubs, restaurants, bars, government-owned stores and privately owned stores. Data for retail sales is not available.
The BCLDB found B.C. wholesale buyers purchased nearly $3.5 billion worth of alcohol in the 2024 calendar year, or $3,487,387,072. That is down $138,470,662 or about 3.82 per cent from the $3,625,857,734 that those buyers spent in 2023.
Every category of alcohol wholesales were down both in volume and in dollars spent, with volume wholesales in each case falling more than the dollars spent. That implies that the wholesalers paid more money per litre in 2024 than they did in 2023 in each of the categories: beer, wine, spirits and refreshment.
B.C.'s inflation rate last year was 2.6 per cent, which was the highest in Canada, according to Statistics Canada.
The declines were anticipated as wholesales were down throughout the year.
Wine wholesales fell the most
Wine was the category where B.C. wholesale alcohol sales volume, and dollars spent fell the most.
It did, however, retain its title as the biggest category for alcohol sales.
B.C. wholesale buyers spent $1,091,232,398 on wine in 2024, which was $55,665,648, or 4.85 per cent, less than the $1,146,898,037 that they spent in 2023.
By volume those buyers bought 64,601,924 litres of wine in 2024. That was 4,627,978 litres, or 6.68 per cent, less than the 69,229,902 litres of wine that those wholesalers bought in 2023.
Spirit wholesales also fell significantly
Hard liquors such as rum, gin, vodka and other stiff drinks were similarly less in demand in 2024.
B.C. wholesale buyers spent $914,861,973 on spirits in 2024, down from $961,117,685 the previous year. That is a $46,266,712 drop, which works out to a 4.81-per-cent decline.
By volume the decline was steeper. The wholesale buyers purchased 28,459,800 litres of hard alcohol in 2024, down from 29,951,196 litres in 2023. That is a 1,491,396-litre, or 4.979-per-cent, decline.
Beer wholesales nearly eclipse wine as the largest alcohol category
Beer wholesales crept closer to wine as the largest alcohol category, based on BCLDB data.
Wholesale buyers spent $1,038,998,371 on beer in 2024, which is about 4.78-per-cent less than they spent on wine.
Beer wholesales were down 29,561,721, or 2.77 per cent, from the $1,068,560,092 that the buyers purchased in 2023.
By volume, beer too saw a big decline: 4.88 per cent year-over-year, or by nearly 12.5 million (12,490,986) litres.
The buyers purchased 243,487,751 litres of beer in 2024, down from 255,978,737 litres purchased a year earlier.
Refreshment beverages is the smallest category of alcohol sales
The final category, called "refreshment," includes mostly ciders and coolers and its sales decline was the least dramatic.
B.C. wholesale buyers spent $442,294,330 on that category in 2024, which was $6,987,590, or 1.56 per cent, less than the $449,281,920 spent in 2023.
By volume, however, there was a 4.07-per-cent, or 3,492,429-litre decline: to 82,254,984 litres in 2024 from 85,747,413 litres in 2023.
Trump tariffs and retaliation could impact 2025 alcohol wholesales
Alcohol wholesales this year may be impacted if U.S. President Donald Trump invokes tariffs on Canada, which he has threatened.
B.C. Premier David Eby has threatened that retaliation could include ordering the BCLDB to stop buying alcohol from U.S. suppliers and therefore not reselling it to wholesale customers. Given that the BCLDB is the only legal seller of wholesale alcohol in the province, that would throw wholesale buying habits into flux.
BIV last week crunched numbers to determine that in the year up to the end of September, B.C. wholesale buyers hardly bought any U.S.-made beer. Only 2.08 per cent of the money B.C. wholesale buyers spent on beer that year was spent on U.S. beer.
Nearly 75 per cent of all beer sold wholesale in B.C. is made in B.C.
Those buyers overwhelmingly also preferred to buy B.C.-made wine as well, with 46.7 per cent of all wine wholesales categorized as being from B.C. Most of that was categorized as British Columbia Vintners Quality Alliance (BCVQA) wine, but a substantial amount is wine made from foreign juice that is simply bottled here.
Eby has talked about how drinkers could substitute Canadian rye for U.S. whiskey or bourbon, despite it having a different taste and different ingredients. Combined, all U.S. whiskey and bourbon wholesales in B.C. only made up about 14.08 per cent of all whiskey and whisky (as the Scots and Canadians spell it) wholesales in the province in the year that ended in September.
One major event that could be impacted by any ban on U.S. alcohol sales is the Vancouver International Wine Festival, which is set to launch Feb. 22, and it has the U.S. as the theme region.
