The consumption of liquor is poorly reconciled, in times of inflation, with the adjustments in domestic economies, apart from the growing sensitivity about the harmfulness of alcoholic beverages, even more so those with high alcohol content. These are some of the reasons that explain the sharp drop in foreign sales of French cognac last year, especially to the United States market. The situation causes concern in the sector, which is on alert ahead of the celebration of the Chinese New Year, a good indicator of sales in Asia, the second market after North America.
The latest figures released by the National Interprofessional Cognac Office (BNIC) are conclusive. The famous distillate produced in the homonymous region saw its exports decrease, in liquid volume, by 22.2%. There were 165.3 million bottles compared to 212.5 million in 2022. That year it had already been sold 4.8% less than in 2021. In the United States, the drop in the last year reached 45.4 %. In terms of global turnover, 3,350 million euros, the decline was not so serious, only 14%, although the drop in consumption, if consolidated, portends serious difficulties in the medium term.
The paradox of this reality is that 2023 was an exceptional year of harvest and wine production, despite the severe drought that affected several regions. There had not been a harvest like it for thirty years. It was, therefore, the largest of this century. So the raw material is abundant and the expectations of marketing it decrease.
The news about the declining evolution of cognac sales came a few days after data that was also not positive about champagne, another emblematic product of French excellence in the same field. It was sold 8.2% less in 2023, after the record of 2022, a year in which, after the covid nightmare, many in the world wanted to celebrate with the bubbles of the most festive universal drink. Also in the case of champagne, the price and the pressure of inflation are used as the reason for the retreat, to the point of verifying a true sacrilege: even the French are increasingly inclined to consume cheaper foreign sparkling wines, such as prosecco Italian and Spanish cava.
Regarding cognac, the setback in exports has affected large wineries such as Hennessy, which belongs to the LVMH group (Louis Vuitton), and Rémy Martin. The latter fell 31.4% in billing.
According to University of Bordeaux professor Jean-Marie Cardebat, the reasons for the decline “are less structural than cyclical.” This expert in the alcoholic beverages market acknowledged to Le Figaro that cognac, for a category of consumers, represents “a social marker”, a status symbol, but in times of inflation there are many who prefer to give up such a product. expensive to concentrate on essential goods.
The decline in the sale of cognac not only affects the accounting of the wineries but also other companies that carry out activities related to the sector, such as manufacturers of barrels, bottles and packaging. A glass company in Châteaubernard, in the Charente department, has closed one of its furnaces for six months due to lack of demand, and this has meant placing 120 of its 300 employees on temporary unemployment.
As with champagne, cognac cannot rest on its laurels or in the French market. The Fundador wineries, from Jerez – today owned by the Philippine group Emperador – have been trying for a few years to introduce their brandy among Gallic cognac connoisseurs, a real audacity.
Those who will be satisfied with the reduced consumption of the traditional distillate are the French doctors who study the effects of alcoholism and preach in the desert. They have been warning for a long time that alcohol consumption, even in minimal doses, is harmful, but they clash with a well-established culture, false myths and a powerful lobby with great influence in Parliament and the Elysée.
