Sales of Italian wine in Russia have grown by 45.6% in the first eight months of 2017, and by 343% over the past decade.
The figure was revealed by the president of Veronafiere, Maurizio Danese, at the 14th edition of Vinitaly Russia in Moscow and St. Petersburg, which welcomed participation from 180 representatives from the wine industry, reports Ansa.
Danese pointed out that Russia recently overtook Japan and Sweden to become Italy’s sixth largest market for wine exports.
French Threat
However, in the US, Italy has lost its leadership position to France as the country's main wine supplier, based on data published by Business Strategies, a Florence-based consulting firm specialising in wine exports.
Wine imports from France during the third quarter of 2017 amounted to €1.22 billion, according to US Customs data, compared to Italian wine imports of €1.21 billion. Italy has been the top wine exporter to the US since 2002.
In the first nine months of 2017, French wine imports grew by 18.8%, while Italian wine sales grew by only 3%. As a result, Italy has seen its market share in the US drop from 32.7% to 31.1%.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
