Just over 300 million bottles of champagne were exported from the French province Champagne during 2016, generating €4.5 billion and representing a decrease from 2015’s €4.75 billion, Decanter.com has reported.
The Comité Champagne cited last year’s Brexit referendum as a key factor in the fall,
Though in terms of turnover 2016 will be second only to the record-breaking 2015 performance, the 12 months just past are, aside from 2013 and 2009, the worst-performing in terms of volume over the last decade.
The Comité’s managing director, Vincent Perrin, said the 9% fall in sales in the UK was due almost entirely to the Brexit vote. Within France itself, sales were also down as a result of economic conditions, and a reduction in tourist visits.
Perrin said, 'In 2016 we lost three million bottles in France, and the same amount in the UK," and added vis-à-vis Britain, "When we [forecast] the sales volume in July, we had no inkling the market would shrink at such a pace."
It is believed that champagne houses that conduct their business in euros were more severely impacted. Sales of champagne to the US and Asia, as well as some European nations, were up, partially making up for the weaker-performing areas.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Peter Donnelly. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
