© BELGIAN
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French champagne farmers have had a record year. They had the largest turnover ever and sold the largest number of bottles in ten years, according to the Champagne Committee. And we Belgians are responsible for that.
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The favorable weather conditions, but also corona have undoubtedly played a role. We couldn’t do anything, we weren’t allowed anything. So every now and then we opened a bottle of bubbly to comfort us. It had previously been predicted that 2021 would be a good year for champagne farmers, but the numbers are even better than first thought, as it turns out.
“Turnover amounted to 5.7 billion euros, which is the highest level ever. In total, 320 million bottles of champagne were sold in 2021; the largest amount in 10 years,” says Jean-Marie Barillière. He is CEO of the champagne brand Moët&Chandon and chairman of the united champagne houses in France.
In France itself 140 million bottles of bubbles were sold last year, which is about the same as before the corona crisis. Exports in particular have risen sharply.
Europe did well, as did the United States, Australia and Canada. Only in Asia did they drink less bubbles.
After the US, Great Britain (29 million bottles), Germany (15 million) and Australia 12 million) are the largest buyers. And we? Outside of the French themselves, the Belgians are the largest consumers of champagne, measured per inhabitant,” said Barillère.
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