French toast a record year for wine and spirit sales

French wine and spirits exports hit a new record high in value in 2021, the Federation of French Wine and Spirits Exporters (FEVS) said. 

Sales were boosted by the lifting of US tariffs and by the start of an economic recovery after the pandemic 

Overseas sales of wine and spirits - France’s second-biggest export after the aerospace sector - reached €15.5 billion in 2021, up 28% on 2020 and 11% above 2019, FEVS reported. 

“The growth in value is almost three times the rate of growth in volume, showing the increasing added value of wine and spirits exports,” FEVS President Cesar Giron said.

Wine shipments to the US, France’s largest export market in value, jumped 34% last year to €4.1 billion, Reuters reported. 

The bad news is that French wine exports this year and next could be hurt by lower volumes after spring frosts hit vineyards, Giron said.

The Beaujolais region harvested only half of its average volume while Bordeaux fell by a quarter. 

Image: Emanuele Lattarulo, Scop.io