France - General

Question 1

Average size of vineyard holdings?

Answer 1

10.5ha, much higher than Spain or Italy.

Question 2

Which business still has the most prominence for processing wine, and how much of total wine is processed by them?

Answer 2

Co-operatives, still very important for small growers as 40% of total wine is still processed by them.

Question 3

What’s the current trend of wine consumption per capita?

Answer 3

Long term and fairly steep decline, consumption is now less than half the level of a century ago.

Question 4

Who accounts for 3/4 of volume sales by producers?

Answer 4

Small and medium sized companies or private labels, meaning the sector is highly fragmented.

Question 5

What are the largest 3 companies for sales by volume?

Answer 5

1) Castel Frères (12% total volume)
2) Carrefour France
3) ITM Enterprises

Question 6

How do France’s exports by volume and value compare to Spain and Italy?

Answer 6

Exports less by volume but, by a significant margin, is the world leader by value (50% higher than Italy and 3x higher than Spain).

Question 7

What are France’s import habits, and what does this create?

Answer 7

Significant importer, mainly at an inexpensive level creating a source of tension between French growers and those importing wine (mainly from Spain).