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It is the Jura which wipes the most important losses, with a decrease of 51% compared to last year. © FRANCOIS NASCIMBENI / AFP

In France, the wine growers are gray mine. As the 2019 harvest season comes to an end, the forecasts are pessimistic: the harvest should be one of the lowest in the last five years.

Spring freeze, heat wave and drought in summer, the year 2019 will not have made a gift to French winemakers. As a result, production is down and is expected to reach 42.2 million hectoliters, according to forecasts by the Ministry of Agriculture.

Last year, more than 49 million hectoliters had been produced. Climatic vagaries will therefore have reduced production by 14%. Over the past five years, only 2017 had been worse.

It is the Jura which wipes the most important losses, with a decrease of 51% compared to last year. In the Beaujolais, harvests are a third lower, and in Champagne, a quarter. It is in the South-East, in Corsica and in Bordelais that the losses are announced the least strong.

Bad news that does not happen alone: ​​the United States should overtax French wines by 25% from October 18th. Producers are therefore worried about a sharp drop in exports.

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