France's wine output is set to drop to an almost 70-year low after scorching heat waves and drought battered vineyards, at a time when the industry is also grappling with weak global demand.
Despite late-summer showers improving production prospects slightly from a September outlook, output is expected to total about 35 million hectoliters this year, the agriculture ministry said in a report. That's down 2% from last year and is 14% below the five-year average.
This year's harvest will be worse than in 2024, when bad weather pushed production to the lowest since 1957.
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Extreme weather has been damaging vineyards in France, one of the world's top producers, and its Champagne output is set to fall by almost half from 2025. That's piling more pressure on an industry hurt by dwindling demand amid changing drinking patterns and lackluster economic conditions. French wine and spirits exports have been falling, weighing on the country's food trade balance.
The output projection improved slightly from September's forecast due to better-than-expected yields in the Languedoc-Roussillon region, the ministry said. Output totaled 36.1 million hectoliters in 2024, which was the lowest since 1957's 32.5 million hectoliters, according to data from the International Organisation of Vine and Wine.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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