For the fourth consecutive year, exports of Cognac have increased, reaching record numbers in both volume and value, the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac reports.
With nearly 98% of total production exported, the Cognac appellation continued to grow its export markets in 2018, with growth of more than 3% in volume and 2% in value. Some 204.2 million bottles of cognac were shipped in 2018 – resulting in 3.2 billion euros (roughly 3.6 billion dollars) in revenue.
Some 90.6 million bottles were shipped to the North America Free Trade Zone last year, a 5.2% increase in volume and 0.7% in value. The U.S. continues to be Cognac’s largest market with 87.4 million bottles shipped last year.
Shipments to East Asia grew 5.6% to 60.1 million bottles and 3.7% in value, while exports to Continental Europe declined 5.3% in volume and 2.2% in value. “This decline can be attributed to the difficult economic and political times in some of its markets,” the Cognac Bureau said.