Society

Beaujolais Nouveau imports seen down 20%

Oct 26 (NHK) - Cases of Beaujolais Nouveau are arriving from France, ready to go on sale in Japan next month. But the volume is likely to be low compared to pre-pandemic years.

The first shipment of about 3,200 bottles arrived at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Saturday.

Around 3.6 million bottles are expected to be imported this year. That is down by about 20 percent from 2019 as orders from restaurants have declined.

But a major importer sees a possible pickup in demand as restrictions on dining establishments are eased.

Suntory Wine International President and CEO, Yoshio Keiko said, "We hope that people will go out to restaurants and order Beaujolais Nouveau this year, as they celebrate special occasions while taking measures against infection."

This year, the wine will go on sale on November 18.

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