Portuguese wine exports grew 4.4% in volume and 2.1% in value in the first quarter of 2020, to over €185 million, new data has shown.
According to sector association ViniPortugal, the positive result does not fully take into account impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sector.
The International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) estimates that wine sales in Europe will fall by 50% in value, impacted by a sharp drop in sales in the HoReCa channel.
Mixed Markets
ViniPortugal points out that Portuguese wine sales to the EU dropped by 14.4% in value to around €86 million, while exports to third countries increased 22.8% to around €99 million.
The biggest year-on-year increases in Portuguese wine exports were to South Korea (44.2%), Mexico (34.7%), USA (18.8%), Japan (15.4%) and Canada (12.0%). In the EU, Sweden stood out (+26%), but most other markets registered a negative performance.
Globally, the biggest drop in exports was to Denmark (-23.4%), China (-29.7%), Macau (-52.1%) and Russia (-36.6%).
South Korea is market with the highest average price for Portuguese wine (€6.21/litre), followed by Hong Kong (€5.82), Denmark (€4.59) and Macau (€2.92).
Sales of Portuguese sparkling wines in the EU did not fall as dramatically (-5.1%), achieving significant growth (57.2%) in third countries, particularly Angola (+473.0%), Norway (+110.0%) and Switzerland (+84.8%).
Portugal is the ninth biggest wine exporter in the world.
© 2020 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
