The value of Italian wine exports closed 2020 with a 2.3% decline, to €6.28 billion, albeit lifted by a recovery in the fourth quarter, according to a market report by Ismea and the Italian Wine Union (UIV).
Italy's performance was much better than its main European competitors, France and Spain, which saw exports decline by 10.8% and 3.2% respectively.
Italy also managed to regain world leadership in exports by volume with over 20.8 million hectolitres (-2.4%) of exports.
The report highlighted that this 'better than expected performance' enabled Italy to gain market share in key areas.
Italian wine managed to maintain volumes, values and prices despite the pandemic and an overall 9.7% drop in Italian exports.
Category Performance
Sparkling wines fared poorly in key markets, such as the USA and the UK, declining 6.9% due to a significant drop in the average prices.
Bottled still wines fared much better (-1.5%), registering sales amounting to approximately €3.9 billion.
In the branded segment, sales of DOP products fell 2.9%, although this was still the most exported category with sales worth over €4 billion.
PGI wines registered a 1.2% growth to €1.5 billion, while regular wines saw sales drop by 5.3% in 2020.
Export Markets
In terms of export markets, Italy reduced losses in the USA and witnessed a 3.9% growth in Germany to €1.1 billion.
However, in the UK, the demand for Italian wines dropped by 6.4% to €714 million.
Switzerland, Canada, the Netherlands and Sweden also saw a positive trend, while exports to countries in the east declined.
Overall, Italian wine exports performed better in the EU (+0.7%) than third countries (-4.1%), the study noted.
© 2021 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.
