(ANSA) - BELGRADE, 02 GEN - New official figures from the EU statistical office Eurostat show that the share of total consumption expenditure spent on alcoholic beverages was the largest at the EU level in the three Baltic States, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, in 2017.

The highest proportions of household spending on alcoholic beverages was registered in Estonia (5.2%), Latvia (4.9%) and Lithuania (4.0%), followed by Poland (3.5%), Czechia (3.3%), Hungary (3.0%) and Finland (2.8%), Eurostat said.

In 2017, households in the EU spent 1.6% of their total consumption expenditure on alcoholic beverages - not including alcoholic beverages paid for in restaurants and hotels. This represents a total expenditure of over 130 billion euros, the EU statistical office informed.

Between 2007 and 2017, the share of alcoholic beverages in total household expenditure remained roughly stable in the vast majority of EU member countries. The highest increase was in the last ten years recorded in Romania (from 2.3% of total household expenditure in 2007 to 2.7% in 2017), the highest decrease in Bulgaria (from 3.0% in 2007 to 1.7% in 2017). (ANSA).