The Association of British Travel Agents has warned that if the UK leaves the European Union, alcoholic-drink sales in French supermarkets could suffer, as British tourists buy less to bring back home with them.
It has warned that a 'Brexit' could damage the capacity of travelling UK citizens to purchase wine and beer in France, where taxes on drinks are relatively low and the pound is often strong.
As long as the products are not intended for industrial resale, EU citizens can purchase up to 110 litres of beer, 90 litres of wine, 10 litres of spirits, and 20 litres of sherry or port from France to take home.
Non-EU citizens can only bring home 16 litres of beer, four litres of wine, and a single litre of spirits. It is thought that these restrictions would apply to British citizens if a ‘Brexit’ comes to pass, though negotiations could prevent this.
Victoria Bacon of the Association of British Travel Agents told Mirror.co.uk, "At the moment you can cross to continental Europe and buy as much booze as you want to bring home. In the event that we leave the EU, this will have to be renegotiated.
"The negotiation process will take at least two years and this continuing uncertainty is bound to affect the value of the pound. The overall assessment, from a travel perspective, is that the potential downside of leaving the EU cannot be matched by the potential upside."
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Peter Donnelly. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here
