Are the French abandoning… wine? In France, despite being the land of wine par excellence, wine consumption has been declining for several years. According to figures from FranceAgriMer, drawn from IRI panelist data, sales of still wines (ie without bubbles) fell 5% in volume in 2021 compared to the previous year and 6% compared to the 2018 average. /2020. Store sales had stabilized in 2020, driven by the closure of bars and restaurants, but have already returned to the pre-crisis trend.
It is especially red wine that bears the brunt of this consumer disinterest. Compared to the average for the years 2016/2020, retail sales fell by 6.2% in volume in 2021, continuing the downward trend of recent years. The rosé wine market, for its part, shows a slow underperformance, in contrast to the good moment observed so far: sales, penalized by a rainy summer, remain stable in 2021 compared to the average of 2016/ 2020. By contrast, white wines are in better shape and saw their sales increase by 3% in volume.
Less wine, but more expensive
Good news though: the French are buying less wine, but they are buying more expensive bottles. which limits the breakage for the sector; Still wine sales only fell 1% in value from 2020 and 2% from the 2018/2020 average, much less than in volume. Thus, the average price of red wines increased by 4.2% in 2021 (4.91 euros per liter) compared to the previous year, while that of white wines increased by 4% (5.65 euros per liter). and 2% for rosés (3.97 euros per liter). liter).
Unlike still wines, sparkling wines grew again in 2021, after being heavily penalized by confinements and the closure of bars and restaurants. According to FranceAgriMer, sales of sparkling wines in supermarkets increased by 8% in volume compared to 2020 and also by 8% in value. Sales returned to their level of previous years after two years of decline in 2019 and 2020: they fell only 1% in volume compared to the 2016/2020 average and remained stable in value.
Source: BFM TV
