Paris
Reuters
—
French wine and spirits exports fell to their lowest level in at least 25 years last year as U.S. tariffs and Chinese tariffs hit sales and a strong euro drove up the price of some alcohol, trade group FEVS said on Tuesday, warning there was no imminent relief.
Total French wine and spirits exports fell 3% last year to 168 million cases, the lowest level since at least the beginning of this century, a FEVS spokesperson said. The value fell 8% to 14.3 billion euros ($17.03 billion), the lowest level in five years.
Intensifying trade tensions have caused French wine and spirits exports to fall from traditionally France’s second-largest export sector to third place, behind aerospace and cosmetics.
Looking ahead, FEVS Chairman Gabriel Picard said the sector should benefit from new EU trade deals with South America’s Mercosur region and India, but could remain difficult in 2026 if market access does not improve.
Last year, increased tariffs on shipments to the United States and the threat of further increases of up to 200% dampened demand, especially in the second half of the year, with sales down 21% to 3 billion euros in 2025 and volumes below 30 million cases.
“We’ve seen a real decline in the U.S. and the adjustment in production may not have been enough. We’ll probably see another adjustment in production in 2026,” Picard told Reuters ahead of the Paris wine show.
Sales to China in 2025 fell by 20% to 767 million euros, as anti-dumping duties severely restricted shipments of cognac, armagnac and other wine-based spirits, FEVS said.
Exports of cognac, the mainstay of French industry, fell by 15% in volume and 24% in value, making it one of the biggest casualties of the escalating trade tensions.
“Geopolitical tensions between France and China spelled the end of cognac in China. It doesn’t take much to stop something now, but it will take a long time to rebuild,” Piccard said.
Intra-European wine and spirits exports remained largely stable at €4.1 billion, with markets such as the UK showing resilience with volume growth of 3% despite fiscal pressures, FEVS said.
Champagne exports, which account for 35% of total wine exports, increased slightly in volume but decreased by 4.5% in value. David Chatillon, co-chair of the Champagne Committee, said at Wine Paris that the decline was due to the euro’s sharp appreciation against the dollar starting early last year.
“We expect sales to recover in 2026, but it won’t be that big because the environment hasn’t changed much,” he said.
