BERLIN (AP) — German beer sales in this year’s first half were 2.7 percent lower than a year earlier, dragged lower by closures of bars and restaurants that stretched through winter and into spring, official data showed today.

German-based breweries and distributors sold about 4.2 billion liters (1.1 billion gallons) of beer from January to June, the Federal Statistical Office said. That figure doesn’t include alcohol-free beer or beer imported from outside the European Union.

Domestic sales dropped 4.9 percent compared with the first half of 2020 to 3.3 billion liters (872 million gallons). There were steep drops of 27 percent and 19.1 percent respectively in January and February — compared with the last months before the coronavirus pandemic hit Germany — but gains after that. Sales were up 12.4 percent on the year in March and 11.2 percent in June.

In contrast, first-half exports were higher. There was a 3.5 percent increase in exports to other EU countries and an 11.9 percent jump in sales to nations outside the EU.

Regional authorities in Germany started relaxing restrictions on restaurants and bars in the spring. New COVID-19 infections sank to a very low level in early July; they have been creeping higher since but remain much lower than in several other European countries.

German beer sales have been declining for years as a result of health concerns and other factors, but the pandemic caused an unusually sharp drop. The statistics office has said that sales inside Germany dropped 5.5 percent last year.