French wine and spirits exports declined 4 percent last year

PARIS

French exports of wine and spirits fell last year, industry figures have showed, as the sector was hit by a trade spat with China and now braces for potential U.S. tariffs.

Foreign sales of wine, champagne, cognac and other French alcoholic drinks totalled 15.6 billion euros ($16.1 billion) in 2024, down 4 percent from the previous year, according to the Wine and Spirits Exports Federation (FEVS).

Exports were down 0.1 percent in terms of volume.

The slump comes "in a context still marked by economic and geopolitical tensions", the federation said in a statement.

Sales of French alcohol to the United States, its top foreign market, grew 5 percent last year.

But they tumbled 20.2 percent in China, the sector's third biggest market, as a slowdown in the world's second biggest economy weighted on the industry, the FEVS said.

The federation also cited Chinese tariffs on EU brandy, which Beijing imposed after the European Union slapped duties on Chinese electric cars over unfair competition claims.

Cognac exports fell 10.9 percent while armagnac sank 15.4 percent in terms of value.

FEVS president Gabriel Picard said EU and French leaders "must resolve without further delay the dispute affecting cognac and armagnac for over a year, which otherwise will severely impact all links in the supply chain and beyond."

He called on Prime Minister Francois Bayrou to travel to China to resolve the dispute.

"This is an absolute emergency," Picard said at a wine show in Paris.