2011 Cognac Shipments Set a New Year Record

With figures just released for the year’s cognac shipments up until the end of October 2011, eaux-de-vie appears to be defying the global recession with the 12 months from November 2010 breaking a historical record.

In that time, 163.4 million bottles of cognac have been shipped.  This figure is up 8.5 per cent on the previous record over the same time period that was set in 2007, which stood at 163.1 million bottles.

Cognac market up

The bulk of all cognac is being shipped overseas, with the monetary value of that stock adding up to 2,007 billion euros.  37 billion euros of stock has been shipped within France, although it’s readily accepted that this market is in the grip of the global financial crisis and is continuing to fall.

But with the overseas markets continuing to rise, things are looking rosy for the cognac houses.  Martell show and increase in sales of 25 per cent over the last quarter, and the other ‘big four’ also report healthy profit increases.

Sources: www.charentelibre.fr, www.sudouest.fr