The French do not export grapes because they are hard to keep fresh and too expensive to store and transport for sale. Instead, they make grapes into wine, which is exported and actually gets better with age. The older the wine, the better its taste and the greater its value and selling price. Over the past century, France's national treasury and French winemakers have earned huge sums in foreign exchange.
以生產葡萄酒聞名的法國來說，葡萄園面積廣袤，但葡萄並不外銷，而是加工釀成葡萄酒出口，因為新鮮葡萄保存不易，儲存運銷成本高，而釀成酒後卻能把缺點變成優點，葡萄酒越陳越香，售價高昂，百年來為法國國庫和農民賺進不少外匯。