PARIS (Reuters) – Sales of cognac jumped by nearly a third last year, with American and Chinese consumers favoring older vintages, a new sign that spirits makers have successfully recovered from the coronavirus pandemic.
Cognac sales rose 16% in volume and nearly 31% in value to 3.6 billion euros, the Bureau national interprofessionnel du cognac (BNIC) said.
“This growth reflects a real recovery in cognac as well as new consumption habits,” BNIC said in a statement, noting that sales had also increased compared to 2019 results, before the pandemic.
The outlook should remain positive in the coming months in all markets, added the BNIC.
These results come after the champagne sector announced last month that it anticipates record sales in 2021.
Sales of cognac in the United States, by far the largest export market in the sector, increased by 11% with 115 million bottles exported in 2021.
In China, the industry’s second largest market, sales jumped 56% with 34 million bottles exported.
(Sybille report from La Hamaide; French version Camille Raynaud)
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