Record year for French wine, spirits exports

France set a record for its wine and spirits exports with more than 10 billion euros in 2011, a 10.5 per cent annual increase, the Federation of Wine and Spirits Exporters said last week.

“The sector has weathered the return of the crisis fairly well,” said federation president Louis Fabrice Latour at a press conference.

The federation said there was growth around the world, particularly in Asia though less so in Europe, and was due mainly to sales of Bordeaux wines, Cognac and Champagne.

With a surplus of 8.6 billion euros, wine and spirits were the second-largest contributor to France’s trade balance after the aerospace industry and ahead of the perfume and cosmetics sector, the federation said.

Latour said the growth was due more to a 10.5 per cent rise in prices than to a 2.4 per cent volume increase. Emerging market exports continued to rise and in 2011 accounted for more than one billion euros, the federation said.

Exports to Asia rose sharply, with China jumping two spots to become the third-largest importer of French wine and spirits after the US and Britain. Latour said the US also registered a “spectacular” boost in imports.