ITALIAN WINE EXPORTS STALL IN FIRST QUARTER OF 2008. A FALL IN VOLUME OF 3.9 MILLION HECTOLITERS (-9%), BUT VALUE INCREASES WITH A TOTAL OF 798 MILLION EUROS (+8%).

The first quarter of 2008 has registered a sharp fall in Italian wine exports. According to preliminary data by ISTAT, Italy sent off 3.9 million hectoliters of wine around the world, down 9.1% for the same period in 2007. Sales values, however, have increased by 7.7%, for an average 2.02 euros per liter with a total earning of 798 million euros.
macro-area level, the European Union registered a negative performance in volume of -12%, but positive in value +8.4%, while exports to other countries remain stable at +0.5% and an increase in value of +7%. But the most consistent fall in exports has been felt on the more important destination countries in Europe. Volume decreases of -12% have been registered in Germany, -26% in France, and -9% in Britain. Austria, the Czech Republic, and Eastern Europe in general have also registered considerable drops for exports, with the Russian market counting remarkable numbers at -63% in volume and -26% in value.

The U.S. market, on the other hand, marked a slight increase (+2.3% in volume and +3.2% in value), as has Canada (+6% and + 12%), Japan (+7.6 and + 12%) and Switzerland (+1.6% and +11%).

And the East still seems to be a booming market with continued growth in South Korea, Hong Kong, China, and India. And even South America is still doing well with growth registered in Brazil and Mexico.

President of the Italian Wine Union (UIV), Andrea Sartori: “It is not the euro factor... it’s the increase in prices”

“The signs, unfortunately, were already apparent after the not enthusiastic performance for the last quarter of 2007, and the fall in this first period of the year was expected. I would not explain the phenomenon with the euro factor, because the United States, where a fall would be expected because of the weak dollar relation, demonstrated it was still strong.
Instead, I shift the attention to the fact that, as opposed to other competitors, both European and abroad, Italy is the only country to have increased, and not by a little, the average price of its products, especially for the products that are most requested.
Today, in a difficult international economic scenario, with a global financial crisis whose end is not in sight, we risk not being competitive with these prices.
Spain, for example, has maintained stable prices, and in the same period that we registered a fall, it managed to grow by 16%, in volume and value. Australia, however, is suffering precisely because of the increase in prices that punished its exports to the United States, Germany, and Britain. Given these presuppositions it is not improbable that the fall in exports will be confirmed in the upcoming months”.