"Spectacular turnaround" for Champagne after crisis-hit 2020, with sales surging in most markets
Champagne is bouncing back from a crisis-hit 2020, with sales jumping by 50% in the first half of this year, and most markets experiencing a “spectacular turnaround”.
This is according to new data from Comité Champagne, which reports that exports, too, are recovering, with the historic record set in the first half of 2018 exceeded by 14%. The strongest growth was seen in Europe, North America and Australia, with the domestic market resurging at the beginning of the summer with the lifting of Covid restrictions.
As a result of the positive performance for the first half of the year, the Comité has stipulated an available yield of 10,000kg of grapes per hectare for this year’s harvest. “This well considered and optimistic decision is a good illustration of the confidence of all players in the strength and sustainability of the Champagne sector,” said Comité Champagne co-president Maxime Toubart.
Meanwhile, Comité Champagne’s co-president Jean-Marie Barillère claimed: “These excellent figures are evidence of vigorous recovery on a global scale. As places of consumption re-open, it is clear that our consumers are eager to celebrate a return to a normal social life of sharing and conviviality.” The board is due to meet again at the beginning of September to decide what, if any, additional measures should be introduced for this year’s vintage