Cognac sales worldwide grew by almost a third in 2021, experts said. Market participants estimate that the French beverage brought its producers more than $4 billion.

Revenue from the sale of cognac increased by 30.9% in 2021 compared to the year before, according to the National Interprofessional Bureau of Cognac (BNIC), the French coordinating body of the cognac industry. It refers specifically to the beverage produced in certain regions of France.

Revenue from the sale of cognac in 2021 was €3.6 billion ($4.1 billion), the BNIC calculated. Production volumes were up 16.2% to 223.2 million bottles. The good results were attributed to the relative growth of aged drinks and high valuations of cognac in a buoyant market, the bureau said.

Despite global health and geopolitical uncertainties, the growth of the cognac market reflects its real recovery and changes in consumption habits, says BNIC. The results for 2021 were higher than they were before the pandemic, in 2019.

The US is the leading importer of the French beverage, buying more than half of all cognac produced – 115 million bottles, up 11.1% year-on-year. China came second with 34 million bottles, a year-on-year increase of 55.8%. Europe accounted for 37.1 million bottles, an increase of 8.1% on 2020.

source: cognac.fr