European Union, the value of wine: 130 billion euros in GDP, 52 in taxes, protection of the territory

The value of wine for the European Union is enormous. It generates wealth in many rural areas, preserves the areas from depopulation, protects and encourages biodiversity as well as contributing significantly to taxes and employment. The late, brilliant Philippe Daverio described it very well in poetic words, “Europe is the homeland of wine culture, the first distinctive element of being European", he had said in an interview with WineNews. There are also those, though, who have put it down in black and white in numbers, like CEEV, the European Committee of Wine Companies, in a study conducted by PwC, which will be presented in Brussels, (and which WineNews has been able to report now), which quantified the impressive socio-economic and environmental contribution of the wine sector for the European Union. “The wine sector plays a fundamental role in the socio-economic sustainability of rural areas in the European Union, counting nearly 3 million jobs and contributing almost 130 billion euros to the European Union’s GDP in 2022, equal to 0.8% of the total. It is a blessing against the depopulation of the countryside”, Mauricio González-Gordon, president of CEEV, stated. “Furthermore, its complex supply chain generates almost the same market value at all stages of production - from grape cultivation to winemaking and subsequent marketing - representing a system that must be preserved at the political level”, he added. The report shows that the EU wine sector (especially thanks to France, Italy and Spain, ed.) is a leader in several areas. Internationally, it represents 62% of global wine production and trade. Exports reached €17.9 billion euros in 2022 and a positive trade balance of 15.9 billion euros, wine played a crucial role in reducing the European Union trade deficit 3.7%. Moreover, the study continues, the wine sector is a quality socio-economic anchor for rural areas in the EU. On the social level, wine regions tend to experience less population decline, and on an economic level, vineyards are 37% more profitable than other permanent crops. Additionally, the EU wine sector is a hotbed of jobs, especially in rural areas, and represents 1.4% of total European Union employment. These jobs exhibit exceptional productivity, generating greater added value per employee than similar activities at each stage of the value chain (+90% in agriculture, +16% in production and +5% in marketing). The wine sector generated a total fiscal impact amounting to almost 52 billion euros in 2022, equivalent to 0.7% of EU public spending. Plus, wine has also emerged as a tourist attraction, and, consequently, a key economic catalyst in many rural regions, generating almost 15 billion euros in revenue. Regarding the environment, the report shows that over 3.2 million hectares of vineyards in the EU contribute to the sustainability of the community environment in many ways, such as increasing biodiversity, limiting soil erosion, improved water management and fire protection.
“The overall weight of wine on the European society is impressive and clearly positive”, Ignacio Sánchez Recarte, general secretary of CEEV stated. “But this success story is delicate and must be supported by further adapting the complex legal framework that applies to wine, and preserving wine culture from attacks that attempt to demonize it. Damaging European Union wine means damaging the European Union culture, society and economy,” he added.