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Global sales of Champagne were 322 million bottles in 2021, up 32 per cent on 2020. The French domestic market grew by 25 percent to just under 142 million bottles, returning to the pre-Covid level of 2019, reports the Comité Champagne. Contrary to initial warnings by associations and producers, exports also continued to grow and reached a new record of 180 million bottles. This would mean that sales would reach a new high of around 5.5 billion euros. In 2019, 300 million bottles were sold and 5 billion euros were earned.
The surge in demand was a positive surprise for the Champenois after the 2020 figures, commented Maxime Toubart, president of the Syndicat Général des Vignerons and co-president of the Comité Champagne. "The closure of the main consumption venues and the cancellation of events around the world caused a drop of 18 per cent," he explained. Uncertainty about how the covid crisis would develop had led the trade to reduce its stocks in 2020, he said. In 2021, however, this development was surprisingly reversed - demand rose sharply from April onwards, he said.
(uka / Photo: Comité Champagne)