Italian wine loses 10% of sales on the retail channel of Germany, the USA, and Great Britain

At the end of September, sales on the retail channel in the markets of Germany, the USA, and Great Britain presented a highly critical profile for Italian wine: added together, the three countries recorded a cumulative loss of 10% in volume, with -11% of the sparkling wines and -9% of still wines, against a total sales value of approximately 3.3 billion euros. This was revealed by the Wine Observatory of the Unione Italiana Vini (Uiv), which processed data on Italian wine in the large-scale distribution of the top 3 countries of world demand in the first 9 months of 2022.
On the American market, still wines recorded a trend decline in both volume and value (respectively -8% and -6%), while sparkling wines with a 2% decline in volumes contrasted with a timid growth in values (+ 1%). The general figure expresses an overall value of sales equal to 1.56 billion euros and sees significant decreases in volume in almost all the main denominations on the US shelves.
On the British market – today the most politically and economically unstable one – the situation is even worse: -14% for sparkling wines in volume, -11 for the still wines, with values at -12% for sparkling wines and -8 for still wines on the retail channel. The sales value of Italian wines amounts to about 1 billion pounds, with a significant shrinking, among others of Pinot Grigio and Prosecco.
The trend of Italian wine in the German retail market is similar, with sparkling wines being the most problematic, with volume reductions of 17% and value reductions of 12%, compared to reductions of 9% for still wines. Here too, is a significant reduction for the made-in-Italy champions, such as Primitivo, Pinot Grigio, and Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.
According to the general secretary of the Unione Italiana Vini (UIV), Paolo Castelletti, “Italian wine is experiencing a delicate phase, where bulk prices are falling on average by 15-20% and where the indeterminacy of the real production situation - aggravated by the recent ministerial decision to extend the deadline for harvest declarations once more and definitively - certainly does not help and contributes to generating speculative phenomena. In the background, the well-known cost surplus and an international situation reported being reducing, with our first market in the world - the USA - which in the last quarter recorded a 13% reverse in the volumes of Italian wine imports. The situation requires maximum attention, transparency, and a sense of responsibility on the part of the entire supply chain. Finally, Uiv believes - concluded Castelletti – that in this difficult situation, it is necessary to strengthen promotional activity, beginning with an institutional campaign for Italian wine around the world and optimizing the potential of the OCM promotion”.