Cognac grows 4% despite European malaise

10 September, 2012

By Hamish Smith

The BNIC reports cognac growth

The Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC) has announced shipments of cognac have risen by 4.3%, with growth in Asia and North America off-setting a European decline.

Total shipments of cognac for the year ending July 2012 stood at 18.7m nine-litre cases with turnover amounting to €2.2bn, an increase of 13%.

Volume remains balanced between three major geographical regions: NAFTA (US, Canada and Mexico), Europe and the Far East.

Shipments to the Far East jumped by 9.9% in volume and 21.4% in value during the period. The zone represents 6.9m cases of cognac, largely thanks to China.

NAFTA, cognac’s traditional market, grew by 1.9% from August 2011 to July 2012 to stand at 5.8m cases.

Europe, where difficult economic conditions slowed consumer demand, saw a drop of 1.9% to 5.2m cases.

Broken down by quality, VS was up 6%, VSOP rose 8.6 and XO increased by 22.9%.