Beaujolais exports to UK continue to rise

By Lisa Riley

Published: 16 March, 2021

Exports of Beaujolais wines to the UK continued to rise in both value and volume last year.

Volume increased by 8.1% in 2020, while value sales rose 5.6% compared to the previous year, according to newly released Business France/Département Agrotech data.

This translates as more than 6.2 million bottles of Beaujolais wine imported by the UK in 2020, making the UK the second largest export market for the French region.

The US remains its largest export market with 47,490hl of exports compared to the 46,891hl exported to the UK.

“Beaujolais wines have had an exceptional year in 2020 despite the challenges of the pandemic,” said Cécile Bossan-Redon, MD at Inter Beaujolais.

“We have seen a steady increase in exports to the UK over the past five years, which we think demonstrates that Brits are getting to know our region’s wines better than ever.

“Beaujolais wines are increasing in exports across many of its wine categories and our aim is to continue to demonstrate all our region’s wine have to offer. They are diverse and dynamic wines which we believe are ideal for the UK market,” she said.

Beaujolais now exports its wines to over 150 countries worldwide and in 2020 Beaujolais wines represented 5% of overall French wine exports, according to Inter Beaujolais, with 35% of production attributed to its export market and 65% to sales within France.

In 2020, the region produced 84 million bottles of Beaujolais wines across its various wine categories. Production continues to be predominantly reds, representing 94.5%. However, the white and rosé wines of the region continue to grow at 3% and 2.5% respectively.

Last month, Inter Beaujolais appointed Daniel Bulliat as its new president and Philippe Bardet as vice president.

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