Glass is a rare commodity. And an expensive one at that. According to data from the European Container Glass Federation (Feve), more packaging glass - including wine bottles - was produced in Europe in 2022 than ever before. And, as Michael Delle Selve of Feve confirms, prices have risen far faster than inflation.
Why is glass so scarce and expensive?
Due to the rise in energy prices as a result of the Ukraine war, customers have accepted drastic price increases for glass. The fact that prices have not been adjusted downwards recently in the face of falling energy costs is causing widespread resentment. There are reports from the bottle trade that the situation is leading to heated discussions with customers.
"On the one hand, bottlers and retailers are hoarding glass in order to be able to deliver or bottle at a time when supply chains are unstable; on the other hand, expectations of further price increases are still not off the table," explains Peter Rotthaus, managing director at the Federal Association of German Wineries. "In addition, there has been a lack of production capacities in Southern Europe for several years, which has been slowly building up."
Hoarding stock
Various industry sources confirm that small and medium-sized bottling bottlers in particular are 'bottle hoarders'. Rotthaus also suspects that many buyers have "artificially increased" their demand in order to ensure bottle supply. However, he does not believe that the bottle hoarding is widespread, pointing out that glass suppliers only sell goods in batches that exceed the requisite quantity.
Christoph Jäckle, CEO of Euroglas Verpackungsgesellschaft, notes reluctance to place orders for brown glass, and confirms that a significant number of customers have stashed bottles and are waiting for prices to ease in the second quarter.
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