French wine exports drop in 2008 amid crisis

The value of French wine and spirit exports slipped 0.3 percent in 2008 after sales tumbled in the last three months of the year, a group representing the sector said Wednesday.

France exported euro9.31 billion (US$11.7 billion) worth of wine last year, said Claude de Jouvencel, the head of the French Federation of Wine and Spirits Exporters.

Though the world export market held out surprisingly well and was just under the record-breaking result of about euro9.4 billion in 2007, de Jouvencel said the outlook for 2009 is murky.

"It will be a difficult year, without a doubt," de Jouvencel told journalists at a news conference.

While exports of Champagne and wines from Burgundy slipped, exports of table wines and Bordeaux were up - mainly on sales of the critically acclaimed 2005 vintage, which went on sale in early 2008, the group said.

The United States remains the No. 1 importer of French wines and spirits by value, though the market declined by 12.8 percent to euro1.73 billion ($2.19 billion). De Jouvencel blamed the economic crisis and also the weak dollar for the decline.

Spirits, including high-end cognacs that have been top sellers in the U.S. in past years, were particularly hard-hit, declining 16.3 percent from 2007. The value of wine sales fell by nearly 10 percent.