They lied, Nigeria is not the second largest consumer of champagne in the world

I thought for a short second we were known for something internationally, even if its extravagant spending, but our joy has been dashed as we are not the highest consumer of champagne after France…. we are not even in top 20.

How sad.

Nigeria was named as one of the fastest growing countries in the world of champagne consumption, but that doesn’t categorically mean Nigeria is the highest consumer of champagne… or does it?

One of the interviews was with the head of the Southern Africa Luxury Association, Silvana Bottega. She said: “In the sector of champagne, it is very well-documented that Nigeria has now become the second largest consumer of champagne after France.”

But contradicting that fact, AfricaCheck revealed that facts showed that Nigeria is expected to grow not that it is the largest consumer.

But these articles said that Nigeria is expected to show the second fastest growth in new champagne consumption during the period 2011 to 2016, and not that it was the second largest consumer after France.

The forecast in the two articles was attributed to Euromonitor International, a market research company based in the UK. Their website contains a blog piece by “senior alcoholic drinks” analyst, Spiros Malandrakis.

Titled “Nigerian Chic and European Doldrums”, Malandrakis described a talk he gave at a champagne conference in February 2012: “It was the last slide that did it. Looking at the list of the markets expected to post the strongest actual gains in total champagne volumes over 2011-2016, most of the usual suspects were there. However, what did come as a surprise was Nigeria’s second place in these global rankings, and the audience’s disbelief was palpable.”

Malandrakis told Africa Check that they based their forecasts on expected oil revenues in emerging markets in West Africa. At the time of analysis, when the oil industry was thriving, the company predicted that the wealth gained from these revenues would drive consumption of status symbols, such as champagne.

“Somehow that [forecast] turned into ‘second biggest market’,” The Wall Street Journal’s West Africa correspondent, Drew Hinshaw, tweeted at BBC Africa.

Certainly by 2014, media institutions like Business Today in the US and Mail & Guardian Africareported that champagne consumption, or sales, in Nigeria was the second largest in the world.City Press then wrote earlier this year “Nigeria is fast becoming the second champagne capital in the world, trailing only France – which actually produces the bubbly.”

So with this new revelation, where does Nigeria fit in the champagne consumer rankings?

According to the research, Nigeria is 22nd in 2014, how sad. Even with the way our elites pop champagnes at all gatherings and events, we still 22nd in the world.

Data shows Nigeria ranks just outside the world’s top 20 depending on the measure used.

Looking at imports, Nigeria was the 23rd largest champagne importer in the world in 2014. The country imported 768,131 bottles, Brigitte Batonnet told Africa Check. She is a researcher at theComité Champagne, a trade association that represents growers and producers in France.

The top three countries on their list was the UK (around 34 million bottles), the US (19 million bottles) and Germany (around 13 million bottles).

They can take our ranking, but they’ll never take out “Pop Something”

 

 

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