French winemakers fear glass bottle shortages as prices rise

French winemakers may face a shortage of glass bottles, which have risen in price after the hostilities in Ukraine, BFMTV reports.

France's wine industry has successfully recovered from the COVID-19 crisis. However, winemakers fear that this recovery will slow down due to a possible shortage of glass bottles.

The price of natural gas used to heat sand in glass furnaces to over 1,300 degrees, which accounts for 75-80% of the glass industry's energy consumption, is reported to be skyrocketing due to events in Ukraine.

In addition to the events in Ukraine, a truckers' strike in Spain in March (from which France also imports glass) also affected the situation, disrupting the work of glass factories. As a result, vintners are facing significant increases in glass prices due to a lack of supply and a sharp increase in the cost of raw materials as a result of higher energy prices.

According to Joël Buey, President of the Association of Winemakers of France, prices for glass bottles have risen by an average of 30-40%, and this trend is only getting stronger.

Source: https://fin-journal.info/