Belgian wine production fell by almost two-thirds in 2024 due to bad weather
Belgian wine production fell by 64 per cent last year due to bad weather, according to statistics published on Thursday by the Federal Public Service Economy. One in five winegrowers lost almost their entire harvest due to adverse weather conditions.
Wine production fell to around 1.226 million litres of wine in 2024, the lowest since 2017. The sharp drop is mainly due to extremely bad weather conditions. Night frosts at the end of April and the exceptionally wet spring until June are the main culprits.
"Nevertheless, the decline is relative," says FPS Economy spokesperson Lien Meurisse. "We were spoiled with exceptional yields in 2023 and 2022. If we compare with previous years, the yield in 2024 remains low, but the drop looks less sharp. It's also important to stress that the grapes were of excellent quality."
While the decline affected all wine types, rosé sparkling wine took the biggest hit with a 78 per cent drop. Red wine followed with a drop of 76 per cent. According to the FPS Economy, the low yields this year meant that winegrowers concentrated on their core products. In Belgium, this is white wine.
Flemish winegrowers produced 672,171 litres last year, 21 per cent more than the 553,576 litres produced by their Walloon counterparts. This is a reversal of the ratio in 2023. In that year, Wallonia produced 53.5 per cent of Belgian wine, compared to Flanders' 46.5 per cent.
Despite the decline in production, the number of winegrowers is increasing year by year. In 2024, 321 professional and amateur winegrowers were registered, compared to 290 in 2023 and 259 in 2022. In 2024, 958 hectares of vines were planted, compared with 891 hectares in 2023 and 801 hectares in 2022.
© BELGA PHOTO JASPER JACOBS
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