Calvados sales drop 17% in 2020

Sales of Calvados fell 17% last year as the impact of Covid-19 in France offset double-digit growth in the Netherlands and Japan.

New figures released by the Interprofessional Association of Cider-Based Controlled Appellations (IDAC) found that 4.2 million bottles of Calvados were sold last year, representing a drop of 17% compared with 2019.

Exports represented 55% of all Calvados sales, with 43.5% of bottles sold in the European Union (excluding France) and 4% sold in North America.

In 2020, international shipments of Calvados fell 6.7%, despite gains for the category in some markets. According to the IDAC, sales in Russia grew 5%, the Netherlands was up 20%, and Japan grew 75% in 2020.

Global Calvados sales were also hit by a 27.5% decline in sales in France, which represents 44.5% of total sales for the Normandy spirit.

Sales of the apple-based spirit were hit by the closure of the bars, restaurants, hotels, and a drop in tourist numbers. The IDAC added that sales remained stable in the off-trade.

Didier Bédu, president of the IDAC, said: “We feared the worst a year ago but Calvados has remained in the hearts of consumers.

“The decline in our sales is due to an extremely specific economic situation and is mainly explained by exogenous factors: the closure of bars and restaurants, the event industry on hold and tourism subdued. Nevertheless, the worldwide appetite for Calvados remains strong.”

According to the IDAC, Calvados sales by appellation were split 70% Calvados, 29% Calvados Pays d’Auge and just 1% Calvados Domfrontais.

By age statement, VS proved the most popular and made up 62% of sales, while VSOP and XO Calvados accounted for 23% and 15% respectively.