The French reclaim the "throne" in wine production

(Baonghean) - In 2014, France returned to the top position in the world wine producing countries ranking. France was dethroned by Italy in 2012, this year Italy was pushed down to 2nd place and Spain finished 3rd in the world ranking.

2014 was a turbulent year for the world's leading wine producers.

According to statistics released on Thursday, October 23 by the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV), the hexagonal country produced a total of 4,620 million liters of wine, up 10% compared to 2013. Meanwhile, the total production capacity of Italy this year is 4,440 million liters, down 15% compared to last year. Spain alone had a spectacular breakthrough in 2013, but this year it only stopped at 3,700 million liters. Once again, the red and black wheel of weather brought surprises - happy for France and less fortunate for its two neighboring rivals. Eastern European wine-growing regions such as Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia were particularly bad this year. Meanwhile, Germany had a bumper year, with 970 million liters of wine, up 16%.

Outside the old continent, the country that had a successful year was none other than the United States - finishing fourth in the world's wine-producing countries. The OIV stressed that the US's presence at the top of this volatile sector is quite rare. However, the US has had consecutive successful harvests over the past three years. Although California was shaken by an earthquake in August and September saw unfavorable weather conditions in the state, the total production volume of the US is still expected to reach 2,250 million liters by the end of the year.

In the Southern Hemisphere, Chile, after two consecutive record years, has dropped to 1,000 million liters. In contrast, wine production increased in South Africa, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. The OIV does not yet have information on China's 2014 production. However, with 1,200 in 2013, China ranked 8th in the rankings.

In 2014, the total world production is expected to decrease by 6%, down to 27,100 million liters. However, there is nothing to worry about because this fluctuation is completely normal for this turbulent sector. Especially after 2013, when the total production reached 28,760 million liters. Consumption is also quite stable, this year is expected to reach 24,300 million liters.

However, total production is not all that the French care about. The country is also known as the world's best wine producer, and the quality of the wine affects the value of its exports. In 2013, all the wines of Bordeaux, Bourgogne, Beaujolais, Cotes de Rhone, Val-de-Loire, Alsace and French Champagnes brought in 7.8 billion euros in export value. In 2014, the value of wine exports in the first quarter was estimated by the Federation of Wine Exporters at 3.3 billion euros.

Thuc Anh(According to Le monde)