Belvedere has seen total sales fall in the calendar year-to-date

Ongoing struggles in Poland's vodka market continued to hamper sales for Belvédère in its first half.

The France-based company said late last week that total sales in the six months to the end of June fell by 6% year-on-year, coming in at EUR404.2m (US$538.9m). The slide represents growing weakness for Belvédère, after it posted a 5% drop in sales in its first quarter, in June.

In Poland, which represents almost 60% of the group's global revenue, sales were down 9% largely due to the decline in the vodka market. Belvédere's Krupnik vodka remains the leading brand in the country, however.

"In the first half of the year, the group recorded contrasting performances but remains confident in its capacity to pursue its development despite the difficult economic environment in certain markets," said Belvédère's chairman & MD, Krzysztof Trylinski.

Belvedere is expected to release details of its H1 profits performance in October.