(Decanter) - Champagne sold 14m less bottles in 2012, a 4.4% decline after a slump in pre-Christmas trade. The final figure of 308.8m bottles was lower than anticipated – industry insiders had forecast a 3% fall to 314-315m bottles – following poor demand in November and December, when shipments fell by 6-7% and 8.8% respectively. Leaving aside the lowest point of the economic crisis in 2009 – when shipments slumped to 293.3m bottles – this represents Champagne’s worst year in terms of volume since 2005. However, the Comite Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC) pointed out that shipments by value (ex-cellar) were stable at €4.37bn, describing the figure as ‘very satisfactory’.