A new study, commissioned by spiritsEUROPE and conducted by the Institute of Advanced Studies in Vienna, has confirmed the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Europe’s spirits sector and its entire supply chain.
The pandemic hit on-trade businesses as people stopped going to bars and restaurants, while there was a sharp decline in airport sales following a 70% decrease in passenger traffic in 2020, the study found.
In 2020, the turnover of European spirits producers declined by 8.9% in the EU+ region (EU27, UK, Norway, Switzerland), while the sector’s overall economic contribution in Gross Value Added (GVA) fell by almost one quarter (-24%), data showed.
