Exports of French wines and spirits fell in 2023, a
“soft landing”
after two record years but also
“an alert”
recalling
“the constant need to adapt”
to consumers, the Federation of Wine Exporters said on Tuesday. wines and spirits of France (FEVS).
Foreign sales of French wines, champagnes and cognacs fell by 6% in 2023 to 16.2 billion euros.
But they had jumped in value by 28% in 2021 and 11% in 2022, which prompts the FEVS to speak of a
“soft landing”
.
This sector represents France's third largest trade surplus sector after aeronautics and cosmetics.
The year 2023 was marked by high inflation, which weighed on household budgets, noted Gabriel Picard, president of the FEVS, in a press release.
In some countries, particularly in the United States, sellers reduced the stocks they had built up, and therefore imported less.
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“
Alert for our businesses
”
“This decline is an alert for our businesses”
which
“reminds us of the constant need to adapt to evolving consumer and market demand
,” said Gabriel Picard.
We must consider other types of wine, cans or screw caps, he gave as an example during a press briefing.
Public authorities also have their role to play, in particular by preventing markets from being closed by commercial retaliation measures, he added, mentioning the negotiations of free trade agreements or commercial disputes with States. -United States and China.
The increase in the prices of exported bottles has in any case made it possible to limit the drop in volume, which reached 10% in 2023.
“We have never had such a low volume of wines exported since 2009
,” warned Gabriel Picard.
The United States remains by far the leading buyers of French alcohol, even if its imports have fallen by 22% in value.
To the United Kingdom, France's second market, exports stabilized (+1%), while to China, third market, they fell by 6%, with opposite trends: -20% for wines. but +3% for spirits, which
“benefit from the reopening of places of consumption post-Covid”
.
Exports to the European Union are stabilizing, with a slight decline towards Germany (-1%) and Belgium (-1%) but an increase towards Switzerland (+3%) or Italy (+4% ).