Coopers for stable oak prices

There are a total of 42 wine barrel makers in France, employing between 1,500 and 2,000 people, with an annual turnover of around €300 million. In total they produce about 500,000 barrels a year, with some 300,000 coming from oak sourced through the Office National des Forets (ONF).

They are lobbying the French government’s forestry commission for greater transparency and price stability in the industry, as international competition gets fiercer both for barrels and for their side products such as wood chips.

“French oak for barrels is seen as the best in the world, but we have been suffering from a forestry commission which has not been taking us seriously,” said Jean-Luc Sylvain, president of the French barrel makers’ association.

“Without a long-term vision of the market and with no clarity over the quantity or quality of wood released onto the market, our future is threatened.”