The average price of a bottle of wine in UK supermarkets has increased by 4% year on year, to £5.58, according to the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA).
Meanwhile, sales of wine in pubs, bars and restaurants show that the average price of a 175ml glass of wine increased by £0.21, compared to the same period last year.
The WSTA says that prices have been affected by the 'triple whammy' of Brexit's impact on the pound, rising inflation, and the 3.9% inflationary duty rise on alcohol imposed during March's budget.
The association added that total volume sales of alcohol across both the on- and off-trade are down for the fourth quarter in a row, coinciding with price rises.
Further Increases
The WSTA has warned that this trend is set to continue, as duty increases are planned in the UK's Autumn Budget.
"The pain doesn’t end here," said Miles Beale, chief executive of the WSTA. "The Autumn Budget is set to see alcohol duty rise by inflation once again."
"Unless the government starts showing support for our undervalued alcohol industry, in November, we’ll find ourselves on the end of a further blow to follow up the triple-whammy combination already dealt out to our industry this year. We need a time-out from excise-duty increases."
Earlier this year, the organisation had forecast that the price of a bottle of wine could increase by up to 10% in 2017.
Consumer Cost
A YouGov poll published in WSTA's most recent quarterly market report reveals consumers' unease at increasing costs, with 80% of people polled saying that they were concerned about the prospect of paying higher prices, compared to 71% in February.
Following the Brexit decision in 2016, the WSTA says that the UK wine industry has tried to absorb rising import costs, however, costs have been passed on to consumers as a result of market conditions.
In the UK, 56% of the cost of the average bottle of wine is taken up by tax, including VAT and duty rates. In comparison, 14 countries in the EU have zero-rates for wine, and therefore only 21% of a bottle of wine sold in France or Spain is taken up in tax, and only 19% in Germany.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
