While many manufacturing sectors faced difficulties in 2013, the production and consumption of beer and alcohol products still managed to post considerable growth, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said Monday.

In sharp contrast to the high unsold inventory of manufacturers in other industries, the beverage makers have had to operate at their full capacity to ensure supply and prevent market instability, the ministry said.

Vietnamese brewers collectively produced 2.9 billion liters of beer in 2013, a 7.4 percent increase compared to a year earlier.

Saigon Beer Corporation (Sabeco) and Hanoi Beer Company (Habeco), the country’s two largest brewers, respectively accounted for 1.33 billion liters and 531.1 million liters of the sum.

A ministry official revealed that all of the produced beer has been consumed by local drinkers.

In May, market research organization Eurowatch published figures showing that 3 billion liters of beer were sold in Vietnam in 2012.

On average, each Vietnamese person consumes 32 liters of beer per year.

Vietnam is the "beer drinking champion" of the ASEAN region, the third in Asia after China and Japan, and in the top 25 beer drinking countries globally with an annual growth rate of 15 percent, in spite of the fact that its per capita income in 2012 was among the lowest in Southeast Asia.

Vietnam’s per capita income was at only $1,540 per year in 2012 and $1,960 per year in 2013, just ahead of Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar.

Beer consumption is expected to soar during the Tet holidays, starting January 31.