€17.2 billion worth of French wine and spirits exports in 2022

In 2022, wine and spirits were among the top products for French foreign trade. According to the data published by the Federation of French Wine and Spirits Exporters (FEVS) on February 14, 2023, French wine and spirit exports reached a record amount of €17.2 billion, marking a 10.8% increase compared with 2021.

Second after the aerospace industry’s trade surplus, the trade balance in wine and spirits amounted to €15.7 billion.

The volume of commercial goods returned to pre-Covid levels at 195 million cases, slightly down on the previous year (-3.8%), for two reasons: the low availability of still wines due to the 2021 frost (‑9%), and geopolitical and logistical tensions.

Most markets experienced growth

Wine and spirit exports to the United States rose by 14% to €4.7 billion, driven by sparkling wine (+20%) and spirits (+13%), despite a 5% volume decline. In spite of Brexit, exports to the United Kingdom increased by 7% in 2022 to €1.7 billion, supported by the performance of champagne (+12%).

Figures for Asia were up slightly in 2022 reaching €3.9 billion (+5%), thanks in particular to Japan and South Korea’s growth (up 23 % and 31 %, respectively). Meanwhile, China (+0.5%) and Hong Kong’s (‑29%) results suffered from the severe lockdown measures that were still in force in 2022.

Strong growth in global revenues for French wine and spirits

The global revenues of French spirits grew by 11.6% reaching €5.5 billion, with a volume growth of 55.7 million cases (+2.2%). Global revenues for French wine amounted to €11.6 billion (+10.2%), with 135.4 million cases (-6.6%).

The year ended with positive results, despite the challenges brought on by 2022: an economic and political environment that contributed to the increase in prices and the rise in inflation, though offset by the currency exchange, and the impacts of a low harvest in 2021. The sector can also be significantly destabilized by the commercial consequences that have arisen with certain countries. The structural evolution of consumption habits, facing a sharp decline, is also a challenge that the industry will increasingly have to face.

The French Federation of Exporters of Wine and Spirits (FEVS) comprises roughly 550 French wine and spirits exporting businesses, which together make up 85% of French exports in wine and spirits. The data mentioned in the article comes from customs services and is reprocessed by the FEVS. In the absence of detailed export data for December 2022, the figures presented in this document are an estimate of French wine and spirits exports for 2022.

*Wine: cases of 12 bottles or 9 liters – Spirits: cases of 12 bottles or 8.4 liters and 40% volume.

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