Those who have been craving a glass of wine to mark the end of dry January might want to sit down, as a new report in The Grocer suggests wine prices are set to soar because of a “severe” shortage of glass bottles.
Experts from the wine industry warned the delicious tipple could become more expensive in the foreseeable future, as glass suppliers are witnessing large increases in costs caused by glass shortages.
Demand for green bottles has been particularly high, according to industry experts. The demand has in fact overtaken supply, meaning price increases are inevitable. And a no-deal Brexit could hike costs up even more.
Tim Croxson, chief operating officer for Croxsons, a global glass container and closure supplier based in the UK, confirmed to HuffPost that there is a shortage in glass – not just in the UK but across most of western Europe.
Longer summers in western Europe are partly to blame for the current shortage, he said, as it resulted in more demand for wine and beer. There has also been a lack of investment in the industry, which has led to shortages and therefore might also prompt price increases.
The booming gin market has also played its part, Mark Lansley, chief executive at Broadland Wineries, told Harpers. There is evidence to suggest a few UK bottlers have been stockpiling ahead of Brexit, and as people move away from plastic bottles in a bid to protect the environment, demand for glass has risen.
Historically the UK has relied on glass imported from continental Europe to cover shortages in supplies, but Croxsons is continuing to go further afield, to the Middle East and Asia. “We have responded by using a more diverse supply chain,” Croxson said. “Manufacturers clearly cannot just build another furnace, therefore there is room for suppliers who are more agile and are not so reliant on just one or two manufacturing facilities.”
And if glass shortages weren’t enough, there are also concerns that a no-deal Brexit could impact wine prices in the UK. The Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WTSA) warned a no-deal situation would see wine prices hit an all-time high.
In the event of a no-deal Brexit, the WSTA believes that a temporary suspension on all wine tariffs for six to 12 months would massively reduce the strain on the supply chain.
Currently an average priced bottle of wine costs £5.73. If the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal, tariffs on EU wines alongside a planned duty increase on 1 February would add an extra 20p to the price of a bottle.