Global Cognac exports were in the red in 2024, with Chinese tariffs driving down value exports to the region by nearly a quarter.

Global value exports of French Cognac fell by 10.6% year-on-year in 2024, according to data from the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC).

Beijing’s imposition of anti-dumping measures on European brandy exports and the struggling Chinese economy were predominantly to blame for the drop. Exports of Cognac to the Far East Region, mainly represented by China, dropped by 24.2% as a result.

Shipments to the Chinese market specifically dropped 23.8% year-on-year, and 9.6% by volume.

“The sharp fall in our shipments to China since last October makes a rapid political solution to the problem of Chinese taxes more necessary than ever,” the BNIC said, according to Reuters.

Rémy Cointreau released its third-quarter sales figures in January, reporting that sales were €787 million, a fall of 17.7% on an organic basis compared with 2023.

Sales were not as dismal as had previously been expected thanks to a significantly better-than-projected performance in Cognac, which accounts for about 70% of the group’s sales.

However, worsening market conditions in China are likely to impact fourth-quarter results significantly.

The company spoke of a “marked decline” in China where its Rémy Martin brand is the Cognac sector leader.

At the beginning of January China’s Ministry of Commerce extended its investigation into EU brandy for a further three months, with the anti-dumping probe now expected to come to a close on 5 April 2025.