Italian wine and exports: -0.8% in value (€3.2 billion) up to May 2025

Istat data on Italian wine exports, updated in May 2025, confirm the trend of the first four months of the year: a very slight decline in value, in the order of -0.82%, to €3.2 billion, and a decline of -3.8% in volume, to 852.3 million liters. But there is also another confirmation: net of Trump’s tariffs, at 10% until early August and 15% from now on, the United States, together with Canada, continue to remain in clearly positive territory, while the decline, especially in value, is mainly attributable to the collapse of Russia, but also to some decline in the most important European markets such as Germany and the UK, and in Asia, from China to Japan. At least, this is one of the possible interpretations of the Istat data, analyzed by WineNews, which, at least for the US, also confirm the overall trend reported in recent days by the Oive.
Looking at individual markets, the US continues to be the clear leader. While volumes remain more or less stable at around 150 million liters, values are still up 5.7% to €838.7 million, albeit slightly down on the 6.5% growth recorded in the first four months. Germany remains behind the US, despite a -1.2% decline in value, to €478.8 million, but with a significant -5.8% decline in volume, to 198.5 million liters, in what is the leading foreign market for Italian wine in terms of quantity. The United Kingdom, on the other hand, saw a sharp decline in value, down 5.9% to €298.1 million, accompanied by a 4.3% drop in volume to 94.7 million liters. Switzerland remains a stable and secure port, with €164.7 million (+0.2%), while Canada (which, for months, has closed its shelves to American wines due to the tariff dispute, ed.) has seen significant growth, with a +9.8% increase in the value of Italian wine imports, to €159.3 million, and a +3.5% increase in volume, to 28.1 million liters. Among the markets above €100 million in value, France continues to grow, up +2.1% to €130.9 million, as do the Netherlands, up +1.8% to €104.8 million. There was also slight growth (+2.3%) for Belgium, with €90.6 million worth of Italian wine imported in the first five months of 2025, while Sweden, at €80.4 million (-1.5%), and Austria (-2.5%), at €62.7 million, saw slight declines.
Moving eastward, however, we see the collapse of Russia, which has practically halved its imports in value, stopping at €61.2 million (-45.3%), but Japan also suffered, with €70.1 million (-10.9%), as did China (-21.1%) with €28.9 million, now closely followed by Australia, which grew to €28.2 million (+7%), overtaking South Korea, with €22 million (-1.8%). Finally, looking at Brazil, the most important market in Mercosur, in which many place their hopes for growth, the data show an increase of +8.7%, which translates into €14.6 million in value.
Data also shows a slight decline in sparkling wines, after years and years of growth, with a -1% decrease in value, to €875.8 million, and a -0.9% decrease in volume, to 206 million liters.