Sales of beer, wine and spirits in British Columbia were $3.5 billion in 2013 – an increase of 0.5% compared with one year ago – BMO Economics announced February 28.
This is one of the smallest increases in the country, with only the Atlantic provinces and the territories seeing smaller growth at 0.3%.
Canada-wide, sales were $19.6 billion, reflecting an increase of 2.3% compared with 2012.
"Growth in Canadian liquor sales was roughly on pace with broader retail-sector growth in 2013, with Saskatchewan and Quebec registering strong year-over-year gains of 5.7% and 3.7%, respectively," said BMO Capital Markets economist Aaron Goertzen.
According to the most recent Statistics Canada data, alcohol sales contributed $6.1 billion to government coffers Canada-wide in fiscal year 2012, including both direct provincial government revenue and the unremitted profits of alcohol authorities."
The portion of sales attributable to wine has increased steadily since the mid-1990s, from less than 20% to over 30% in 2013. Goertzen said this reflects both higher volumes and higher average prices.
In particular, he said, consumers are enjoying more red wine, which has seen the volume of purchases almost triple over the past two decades. White wine, on the other hand, has only grown 29% over the same period.
The growth in wine sales has meant a decrease in the amount of beer. While beer made up 53% of all alcohol sales 20 years ago, today it comprises 44%.
