Beer sales slumped to their lowest level in 20 years in the first three months of the year, as lockdown forced the UK’s 47,000 pubs to shut up shop. Pubs, bars, supermarkets and shops sold 1.5bn pints of beer between January and March, down 7.2% on the same period of 2019 and the worst result since the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) began publishing figures in 2000. The slump was entirely down to the loss of trade at pubs and bars affected by the Covid-19 restrictions that Boris Johnson announced in mid-March. While shops and supermarkets sold slightly more beer than usual during the quarter, the amount sold and consumed in pubs and bars plunged more than 16%, or about 450,000 pints. This was despite the fact that the period only included 10 days in which pubs were forcibly shut due to lockdown restrictions. The industry is likely to suffer much steeper falls when figures for April to June come out, because lockdown has been in place for the entire period. The BBPA said plummeting sales underlined the need for urgent clarity about when pubs will be allowed to reopen. The government sparked confusion earlier this week by hinting that beer gardens could potentially open by 22 June in England, before saying it would stick with its earlier plan that pubs would remain shut until 4 July at the earliest. The trade body said pubs would need at least three weeks to prepare, meaning they would need to be told by 13 June whether a July opening will be possible. “These stark figures reveal how the lockdown is having a devastating impact on our world-class breweries and pubs,” said BBPA chief executive, Emma McClarkin. “We are urging the government to get Britain brewing again now and re-open our pubs from 4 July. “To do this our sector needs at least three weeks notice so that our breweries can brew fresh beer and our pubs can get ready to reopen safely. Our pubs and breweries are desperately in need of this clarity.” Reopening of pubs hinges partly on whether the government reviews physical distancing requirements. If the required distance remains at two metres, only 12,500 – a third of England’s pubs – could reopen, comparedwith 75%, or 28,000 of them, at one metre.