BRUSSELS – The Belgians drank a total of 373 million bottles of wine last year, about 30 litres a person. Belgian families spent a total of EUR 1.13 billion on wine last year, a figure that is expected to rise to EUR 1.3 billion by 2010.

Belgium may not produce much wine, but these figures make the country an important consumer on the international wine market, says Alain Bloeykens, wine expert and worker at the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles, the largest wine competition in the world, which will be held this weekend in Maastricht.

“A study by the University of Paris at the end of last year indicated that Belgium is the favourite test market for wine producers worldwide who want to launch a new product,” Bloeykens says. “Belgians are seen as a country of connoisseurs and enthusiasts who are willing to pay the right price.”

[Copyright Expatica News 2007]

Subject: Belgian news