Will cider cost more after a harvest undermined by drought, down 50% compared to 2025?

This text corresponds to part of the transcription of the report above. Click on the video to watch it in full. Opening a bottle of cider could cost a little more this year because of the drought which has reduced production.

The French buy a total of 100 million bottles per year. Are they willing to pay more? “If I need to help, I always participate.

No problem, we have to help the producers, we need it,” confides a man at the checkout. “I would be ready to pay more, no worries. Afterwards I don't drink a lot of alcohol, so it's just for occasions", adds a young man.

“That gives us roughly 20% of a usual harvest” The fault is the successive heatwaves which hit producers, as in the Eure. As early as May, Emmanuel Hyest's 3,000 apple trees suffered a first bout of heat. “The flowers bloomed and did not turn into apples.

Then, we had other droughts with heatwaves. And there, we had small fruits with very little yield and little juice,” explains the cider producer from the Cidrerie du Mont Viné. As a result, his vats, usually full at this time of year, are almost empty.

"In this one, 1,500 liters. This is this year's harvest. So, you see, that gives us roughly 20% of a usual harvest," he emphasizes.

He sells his bottles for 5.15 euros, but he is considering increasing them by around fifty cents to keep within his costs. And he's not the only one. All producers are demanding a price increase even before the opening of commercial negotiations with major retailers, which are due to begin on December 1st.

Machine-translated from French