Browse Data and Analysis

The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) has announced retail price adjustments for beer, effective April 1, 2025, due to changes in the Cost of Service.

On July 25, 2024, the Province of British Columbia announced additional temporary supports for B.C. wineries to support production of the 2024 vintage. These supports enable all B.C. wineries to produce a 2024 vintage using imported wine grapes, juice, and unfinished wines to supplement a short domestic wine grape crop.

The Province of British Columbia announced additional temporary supports for B.C. wineries on July 25, 2024. B.C. wineries will now be able to produce B.C. wines with imported wine grapes and grape juice for vintage year 2024.

On May 24, 2024, the Ontario provincial government announced an accelerated plan to allow sales of wine, beer, cider, and ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages in grocery and convenience stores by the end of October 2024. The initial timeline provided for implementation to begin in January 2026.

The Ontario provincial government announced that sales of wine, beer, low-alcohol ready-to-drink beverages, and cider will be allowed in all groceries and convenience stores starting from January 1, 2026.

Changes to UK alcohol tax rates were implemented on August 1, 2023. The UK government calls this an alcohol duty, but it is an excise tax charged at the point of production or importation of drinks of alcoholic strength exceeding 1.2 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) – the percentage of pure alcohol per liter of product.

Japan’s National Tax Agency (NTA) proposed 9 new geographical indications (GIs) for alcoholic beverages from the United Kingdom. NTA will accept public comments on the proposal through January 16, 2023.

As the 14th largest export destination, the United Kingdom (UK) has been an important and growing market for U.S. agricultural products. Shared heritage and cultural ties have continued to bolster U.S.-UK trade. The United States is the second largest UK agricultural supplier, behind the European Union (EU). The market presents many opportunities for intermediate and consumer-oriented products.

Canada is the top export market for U.S. wines by value, and Ontario’s provincial liquor board is among the largest purchasers of beverage alcohol on the planet.

Quebec is the largest wine-importing province in Canada, at 180 million liters of wine valued at $770 million in 2020.

Australia reached a partial settlement with Canada on its World Trade Organization dispute over Canadian federal and provincial wine measures.

British Columbia restaurants and bars will be able to purchase alcoholic beverages at wholesale prices through March 31, 2021; hospitality sector businesses have traditionally paid full retail prices.