Italian Wine & Food Institute: USA, wine imports down in volume, but values are growing

Wine imports in 2018 in the United States, the world’s leading wine market as well as Italy’s number one partner, are continuing to decline. According to data the Italy Wine & Food Institute has released, based on information from the US Department of Commerce, in the first 9 months of the year there was a significant slowdown in volumes (-7.9%, to 6.4 million hectoliters), while values continued to rise, +5% compared to 2017, for 3.3 billion dollars). And, Italy is no exception, although it still holds the title of market leader in the still bottled wines segment, despite 3.3% less in volume (to 1.8 million hectoliters), which however is offset by +4.1 % in value (for 1.03 billion US dollars). The real star on the American market continues to be France, which has grown 9.5% in quantity (1.03 million liters) and an impressive +19.7% in value (for 981 million US dollars).
Many of the main exporting countries are tumbling both in volume and in value: Australia (-18.5% in volume, to 1.02 million hectoliters, -15.9% in value for 216 million US dollars), Chile (-12.4% in volume, 884.810 to hectoliters, and -11.3% in value, 176 million US dollars), Argentina (-14.7% in quantity, 369.360 to hectoliters, and 2.6% in value, for 178 million US dollars), while Spain collapsed in volume (-17%, to 309.070 hectoliters) but is stable in value (+1.4%, for 153 million US dollars).
Another country growing in both volume and value, besides France, although its numbers are quite different, is New Zealand, which has grown 3% in volume (540.360 hectoliters) and 3.8% in value (330 million US dollars).
“Even though this market is facing a period of recession, some significantly interesting elements have emerged”, pointed out the Wine & Food Institute, “for instance, the widespread growth of rosé wines. The four main exporting countries to the US market (Italy, France, Australia and Chile) have all recorded considerable increases in rosé wine exports, which have grown from a total of 341.230 hectoliters, for 204 million US dollars in value in the first nine months of 2017, to 436.530 hectoliters, for a value of 289 million US dollars this year, registering an increase of +30% in quantity and +41.5% in value. At the same time, however, those same countries registered decreases in red wine exports, which, in general, had fallen 5.6%”.
There is a special sector, as usual, which concerns Italian sparkling wines and Moscato that make up the main part. In the first nine months of this year, exports of these wines totaled 550.980 hectoliters, for a value of 315 million US dollars, compared to 478.760 hectoliters, and a value of 257 million US dollars in the corresponding period in 2017, recording +15.1% increase in quantity and +22.6% in value”.