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Cognac sets new export record

Published:  14 August, 2018

Cognac exports have achieved their fourth consecutive year of growth, driven by continued thirst for the historic French brandy in the US.

A new record has been set for the number of bottles shipped during one campaign year, the Bureau National Interprofessional du Cognac (BNIC) reports, with exports to the UK – the largest European export market – stable, and the US accounting for almost half of all exports.

From August 2017 to July 2018, shipments of Cognac outside of France reached 205.9 million bottles, beating the past record of 200 million bottles.

Turnover was 3.2 billion euros.

The sector contributes significantly to the trade exports of French wines and spirits, and accounts for nearly a quarter of the total value of exported French wines.

The Cognac AOC first became a "Delimited Region" in 1909.

Today, Ugni Blanc makes up 98% of the region’s 79,600 hectares.

The US is by far the biggest market for Cognac, as the figures show.

Just under 87 million bottles were shipped to the US during the campaign, resulting in the ninth consecutive year of growth in the region.

“The historical presence of cognac and the constant investments of the cognac houses” is pivotal to the spirit’s success stateside said Patrick Raguenaud, president of the BNIC.

Meanwhile, shipments to the Southeast Asia, China and Japan continued to grow, with the majority of growth driven by China.

Asia overall saw volume increase of 13.5% and 12.4% in value, with 60.9 million bottles shipped.

China imported 26.2 million bottles, confirming “the lasting appetite of the Chinese for cognac, even as the market is still stabilising”, according to Raguenaud.

Shipments in Europe saw a 2% dip in volume to 41 million bottles, while value grew 3% in value.

While volumes were slightly lower in western and northern Europe, in the UK, the largest European market, “shipments remain stable, despite the Brexit context,” added Raguenaud.

Alongside growth in established markets, the BNIC highlighted continuing growth in a number of “new, high potential areas”.

These include South Africa, Vietnam, Oceania, the Caribbean, where exports were up 12.2% in volume and 5.3% in value.

Together, these new areas of opportunity now represent more than 6.7% of global volumes shipped, or nearly 13.9 million bottles.

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