Champagne Export Growth Being Driven by Japanese, Asian Demand

Export demand for Champagne is being driven by demand from Japan and the broader Asian market, as well as Australia and to some extent America, according to Jean-Marie Barillere, president of the Comite Champagne trade body.

Describing those regions as ``the main drivers for growth, '' he said in a phone interview from Reims this week that ``if there is no geo-political crisis, I think it will continue this year.'' The Comite Champagne has produced a report showing total Champagne sales worldwide last year reached a record 4.9 billion euros ($5.7 billion), with exports rising 6.6 percent from the previous year to 2.8 billion euros while sales in France remained stable at 2.1 billion euros. ``The two biggest problems we face are France and England, for two different reasons,'' he said. In France pressure on buying power and rising taxes are contributing to cool demand for Champagne, while in the U.K. the weakness of the pound and uncertainty over the country's planned departure from the European Union are overshadowing trade. ``I think people in the U.K. will spend less than they used to,'' he said. Japanese consumption of Champagne, which totaled 360 million euros last year compared with the U.K.'s 410 million euros, could overtake the British market in a couple of years, Barillere said. ``The gap is not a huge one.''