Irish whiskey sales in France rising

By Ray Ryan, Agribusiness Correspondent

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

IRISH whiskey sales in France are rising, but it has nothing to do with Le Crunch and the World Cup.

The surge started long before the Ireland-France soccer clashes and any inclination by supporters of the Boys in Green to drown their sorrows at their side’s 0-1 defeat at Croke Park last Saturday.

Neither has it anything to do with Les Bleus fans toasting their team ahead of tomorrow night’s second leg game in Parc de France with a drop of Irish.

The growth of Irish whiskey sales in France, now valued at €52.8 million, was in fact detected between August 2008 and August 2009.

In value terms, sales increased 3.8% during the period, equalling a market share of 3.3%, while volume sales rose by 0.9% in the same period, equalling a 2.6% market share

Stephanie Lahad, Bord Bia, Paris, said although not as spectacular as bourbon’s value growth of 13%, the performance of Irish whiskey remains positive relative to the 11% drop in the volume of Canadian whiskey sold in the first nine months of 2009.

The whiskey market in general has grown by almost 4% in volume and 6% in value during the period between August 2008 and August 2009.

However, growth in the sector is not restricted to lower priced products, as premium quality whiskies are also flourishing.

Blends of 12 years and over saw market share growth in the period January to September of 5.7% in volume and 6.5% in value, which indicates the increasing emphasis on quality and taste to the French consumer.

"It is clear that opportunities exist within this category to build on Irish whiskey’s current growth through both own-brand and premium branded products."

This story appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Tuesday, November 17, 2009