U.S. imports of European wine drop in January 2026: down 11% to €1 billion

The fact that the wine market, following a downturn in 2025, began 2026 facing another uphill climb is nothing new, as demonstrated by the trend in Italian (and Spanish) wine exports in January, analyzed by WineNews based on Istat data, showing a 18.7% decline in value to 470 million euros compared to January 2025 (a loss of 108 million euros) and volumes at 133 million hectoliters (-13.3% compared to January 2025), with a sharp drop in the U.S. (-35.2% in value), though the “score” is, however, influenced by the rush to buy at the beginning of 2025 to avoid the tariffs sought by U.S. President Donald Trump and subsequently implemented. But even in Europe as a whole, the wine sector has hit a snag. According to the European Commission’s “EU Agri-Food Trade Monitor”, which covers January 2026, wine exports totaled 1 billion euros in value, down 11% from January 2025, which, in other words, represents a decrease of 127 million euros, caused primarily by the reduction in volumes (-16%) and prices (-19%) of wine exports to the United States. Wine and wine-based products, which accounted for 7% of total European agri-food exports in 2025, rank fourth in the “basket” of exported products. Overall, considering the agri-food sector, in January 2026 the European Union exported goods worth 17.5 billion euros, down 9% from the previous month and down 8% from January 2025.
Exports saw the sharpest decline to the EU’s main trading partners, namely the United Kingdom (€4.1 billion, down 7% from January 2025) and the United States (down a more significant 25% from January 2025 to €1.8 billion). Although starting from low levels, the best performances came from Singapore (+46%), Egypt (+24%), and Iraq (+42%). Aside from the United Kingdom and the United States, the sharpest declines in value were also seen in Japan (-16%) and Russia (-17%).
In January 2026, however, the EU imported agri-food products worth 14.4 billion euros, down 7% from the previous month and down 11% from January 2025.
The situation is therefore challenging for the agri-food sector at the European level as well, as it grapples with international instability and other factors, with the hope that the coming months will bring good news for an industry that is of vital importance to the Italian economy as well.