FRANCE: Cognac exports stage late recovery in '09 - figures

By just-drinks.com editorial team | 25 January 2010

Cognac exports dropped 12% by volume in 2009, but staged a mini-recovery in the last few months of the year, new figures show.

Just under 130m bottles of Cognac were exported during the year, according to generic body the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC), with all major markets affected by the economic downturn.

Export value declined 11% against 2008 levels.

But the volume decline in the second half of 2009 was only 3.3%, while the last three months saw a 3% increase over the same period in 2008.

Shipments to North America dropped 9.2% on the year, but largest market the US posted a 19% volume increase in the last three months.

BNIC president Bernard Guionnet said he was “optimistic” after a year of “resilience” from Cognac.

Meanwhile, the EU has awarded the BNIC EUR1.8m (US$2.5m) for promotions in the US, China and Russia over the next three years.