Consumption and sales are falling: French winemakers are in trouble

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The reasons for this are inflation and the fact that the French are drinking less wine, as the Ministry of Agriculture in Paris announced on Saturday in its latest market analysis.

Between August and December 2023, exports of wines with protected origin fell by seven percent in volume and by five percent in commercial value. The export of other wines even fell by 16 and 11 percent respectively. The amount of cognac exported fell by 18 percent and that of champagne by 17 percent.

According to ministry data, French winegrowers’ producer prices fell by 13 percent between August and December 2023 compared to the same period last year and by 9 percent compared to the five previous years. Only producer prices for champagne rose by ten percent.

Changing lifestyle with less traditional meals

Inflation contributed to the decline in exports and also had a negative impact on domestic wine sales, the ministry said. Retail wine sales in France fell by four percent in 2023, after an equally steep decline in 2022. Red wines were hit harder than white wine (minus four percent) and rosé (minus two percent) at a minus nine percent. .

In France, the consequences of inflation are exacerbated by a long-term trend that is causing more and more problems for the wine country: the French are drinking less and less wine and, as the ministry’s analysis shows, they are turning to other alcoholic drinks, especially beer. The reasons for this are a changing lifestyle with fewer traditional meals in large groups, more single households where wine is drunk more often in company, and the fact that the culture of wine drinking is no longer automatically passed on in families, because the trade association Vin & Société conducted research .

Outrage about supermarket chain Carrefour

In the traditional wine-growing region around Bordeaux, the government has already responded to the overproduction of wine and sales problems of what is probably France’s best-known red wine, with clearance bonuses for setting aside cultivated areas.

A few days ago, the supermarket chain Carrefour caused outrage in the industry by offering a good Bordeaux for the price of 1.66 euros each when purchasing multiple bottles. Winegrowers complained about another low point in a wine discount battle after recently protesting against a red wine offer at Lidl for €1.89 a bottle. The marketer of the corresponding Bordeaux spoke of an advertising campaign at his own expense that had no negative impact on the income of the winemakers.

The 2023 vintage should have given the French wine industry reason to be happy. At 48 million hectoliters, this was four percent higher than the year before and eight percent higher than the average for the years 2018-2022. (SDA)

Source: Blick