Wiesbaden, Germany  - Beer consumption in Germany, which once prided itself as a world champion of beer culture, has declined for yet another year as Germans reach for a glass of fizzy water instead, national statistics issued Thursday show.

Domestic sales by the German breweries fell 0.9 per cent last year to 8.7 billion litres, and exports were down even more sharply, the Federal Statistics Office said.

EU nations took 1.1 billion litres, down 1.2 per cent and non-EU nations 0.3 billion, down 4.1 per cent.

The data released in Wiesbaden did not cover soft drinks and mineral waters, but previous figures have shown sales of those beverages steadily rising while beer consumption falls back year by year. dpa