LONDON, August 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
Global shipments of Cognac fell by 3.2% in 2013 to 12.3m nine-litre cases, hit by a slowdown in the hitherto fast-growing Chinese market, according to a new, joint just-drinks/The IWSR report.
Having grown by some 800,000 cases since 2009, the Chinese market went into reverse last year, with shipments down by 11.2% to 2.4m cases, as a result of the Government crackdown on luxury consumption. The slowdown in China was partly responsible for North America regaining leadership over Asia as Cognac's largest market in volume terms.
Domestic volumes in the Americas currently stand at around 3.95m cases, representing 32% of total Cognac volumes, with Asian shipments now at 3.57m cases, around 28% of global shipments. When Travel Retail is included, however, then Asia remains the largest region.
The downturn in China has also affected other Asian markets, the report highlights, with volumes in Vietnam and Hong Kong falling and growth slowing in Taiwan. However, the report adds that both Vietnam and Malaysia still look "promising for the future".
The long-term decline in Japan continued, although the decline has slowed. Shipments fell last year by 3.3%, but that was a marked improvement on the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2009 and 2013 of -6%.
There was more bad news for Cognac's performance in Europe, which has declined by 1m cases over the last decade. The report states that there was "little sign of improvement", with European shipments down last year by 7.5% to 2.45m cases.
The biggest declines have been seen in Cognac's main European markets, namely the UK, Germany and France. This pattern continued last year, with all three markets shrinking further. Sales in Germany fell by as much as 17.2% to 365,000 cases.
About just-drinks.com
Established in 1999, just-drinks is the online resource for the global beverage industry, publishing around 20 news articles, analysis features and insights every working day. Under the direction of managing editor Olly Wehring, its experienced team of journalists, consultants and analysts provide a unique and comprehensive blend of reports and interpretation of the beverage industry, including key events, trends, interviews and research that are delivered to over 92,000 business executives per month.
Through its drinks industry analysis, research, news and CONSULT bespoke market research service, just-drinks offers insight into wine, beer, spirits, soft drinks, and bottled water industry developments and key supply-chain trends.
For details of how just-drinks is helping decision makers make decisions, visit www.just-drinks.com
About The IWSR
The IWSR is the leading source of analysis on the alcoholic beverage market. The IWSR's database, essential to the industry, quantifies the global market of wine, spirits, beer and RTDs by volume and value, and provides insight into short- and long-term trends. Our data is used by all of the largest multinational wine and spirits companies, as well as many more local companies.
The IWSR's unique methodology allows us to get closer to what is actually consumed and better understand how markets work. The IWSR conducts face-to-face interviews with 1,500 companies in 118 countries each year, with further input from 350 companies. The IWSR tracks overall consumption and trends at brand, quality and category level.
For further information and images please contact John Newton, Public Relations at Aroq Limited on +44-(0)1527-573-734, email john.newton@aroq.com
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