The average retail price of a bottle of wine in the UK has reached a record high due to Brexit, a new report has claimed.
According to the Wine and Spirit Trade Association’s (WSTA) latest report, the price of a bottle of wine has risen more in a 12-week period this year than it had in the two years before that.
The decision to leave the European Union has been cited as the primary reason for the all-time high prices.
The 2016 referendum result saw the value of the pound tumble, causing an increase in the cost of imports.
In the last three months of 2016, an average-priced bottle of wine sold in the UK surpassed the £5.50 mark; according to the WSTA’s latest data, that price has now hit £5.56.
And due to Brexit, there has been a 3% increase in wine prices in the 12 weeks to the beginning of 2017.
When coupled with the 3.9% rise in alcohol duty introduced by the chancellor in the March Budget, another 8p has been added to an average-priced bottle of wine in the UK.
The WSTA Market Report Q2 2017 (measuring the 12 weeks to March 25) revealed that an average-priced bottle of wine is up 19p a bottle compared to the same 12 weeks of 2015 and up 16p from the same period in 2016.
Forecasts predict that wine prices will continue to rise as the ‘triple whammy’ effect of Brexit, inflation and duty increases continue to take their toll.
Miles Beale, chief executive of the WSTA, said: “Unfortunately, for both British businesses and consumers, we are clear this is not a one-off adjustment, but rather that wine prices will continue to rise.”
