French wines and spirits are set to have a record year this year, with exports of cognac, champagne, Bordeaux wines and even vodka projected to bring in 8 billion euros (US$10.5 billion).
"It's a very good result, despite frenetic competition, an unfavorable euro-dollar exchange rate and slow growth in consumption around the world," said Philippe Casteja, president of the French association of wine and spirit exporters (FEVS).
Exports of Bordeaux wines rose 27 percent in value in the first 10 months of the year compared to the same period last year, according to customs office figures recently released by FEVS.
Champagne exports rose 17 percent in the same period, cognac exports went up 12 percent, armagnac exports rose 19 percent, and Burgundy wine exports went up 9.3 percent.
France, not traditionally associated with vodka, also managed to boost its exports in the first 10 months of this year of the drink by a hefty 132 percent. This was largely due to the success of the Grey Goose vodka brand in the US. France exported 320 million euros' worth of the drink in the first 10 months of this year.
The previous record for French wine and spirit exports was 2003, when the country exported 7.8 billion euros' worth of the drinks.
For the first 10 months of this year, it exported 6.99 billion euros' worth of wines and spirits, a rise of 14 percent over the same period last year, according to the customs office figures.
Assuming the trend continues for the last two months of the year, this will take the year's export earnings easily over the 8 billion euro figure.
Britain remains the best customer for French wines and spirits, followed by the US, Germany, Belgium and Japan.
This year is also set to be the second best year ever for exports of French cognac, with just more than 150 million bottles exported.
PROVOCATIVE: Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the UN Sun Lei accused Japan of sending military vessels to deliberately provoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait China denounced remarks by Japan and the EU about the South China Sea at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, and accused Tokyo of provocative behavior in the Taiwan Strait and planning military expansion. Ayano Kunimitsu, a Japanese vice foreign minister, told the Council meeting on maritime security that Tokyo was seriously concerned about the situation in the East China and South China seas, and reiterated Japan’s opposition to any attempt to change the “status quo” by force, and obstruction of freedom of navigation and overflight. Stavros Lambrinidis, head of the EU delegation to the UN, also highlighted South China Sea
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks. Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps. Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control. The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said it expects its 2-nanometer (2nm) chip capacity to grow at a compound annual rate of 70 percent from this year to 2028. The projection comes as five fabs begin volume production of 2-nanometer chips this year — two in Hsinchu and three in Kaohsiung — TSMC senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer Cliff Hou (侯永清) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Silicon Valley, California, last week. Output in the first year of 2-nanometer production, which began in the fourth quarter of last year, is expected to
Taiwan’s drone exports surged past US$100 million in the first quarter, exceeding last year’s full-year total, with the Czech Republic emerging as the largest buyer, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Exports of complete drones reached US$115.85 million in the period, about 1.2 times the total recorded for all of last year, the ministry said in a report. Exports to the Czech Republic accounted for about US$100 million, far outpacing other markets. Poland, last year’s top destination, recorded about US$11.75 million in the first quarter. Taiwan’s drone exports have expanded rapidly in the past few years, with last year’s total
RSS