IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2017 THE PERFORMANCE OF ITALIAN WINE ON FOREIGN MARKETS HAS BEEN FAR FROM BRILLIANT. GERMANY, THE UK AND CHINA ALSO ALL REGISTERED A MINUS SIGN WHILE RUSSIA IS FINALLY GROWING AGAIN. RECORD SHIPMENTS TO THE US AND CANADA

“The world wine trade, in the first quarter of 2017, shows rather uncertain dynamics, confirming also Italian wine’s far from brilliant performance. Although sparkling wine numbers keep growing, they are lower than in 2016, and bottled wine showed a minus sign in Germany, falling to a record low of 44 million liters (16% less), and in the UK, it is below the threshold of 40 million liters, equivalent to 20% less.
The signs of weakness on the Chinese market, at less 4%, a figure not registered since 2014, show that demand from Beijing, even though confirmed by the various suppliers’ substantial export data at the end of 2016, is not in line with what the market actually absorbs”. This is Antonio Rallo’s, president of the Union of Italian Wines (UIV) summary of the first three months of Italian wine on foreign markets based on the numbers from the Wine Observatory and data from Customs and Statistics Institutes of Germany, Switzerland, UK, Russia, USA, Canada, Brazil, China, Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea.
The analysis “confirms the urgent need to relaunch promotional investments of enterprises activated by the OCM Wine Measure and those already in place by ICE, to develop targeted activities in those key countries for our businesses, such as today the US and in the near future China”.

“One of the positive notes to report on this quarter’s exports”, continued the president of the Union of Italian Wines (UIV), is the performance of Russia that, in bottled wines, exceeded the threshold of 50% increase in value and in volume, confirming the recovery trend that began at the end of 2016. US dynamics are good, maintaining + 4% in value at the end of 2016 and even Canada will open 2017 with the best first quarter since 2012 at a record-breaking figure of 450 million Canadian dollars”. This is one point (from + 2% to + 3%) in volume growth, recording the best first quarter in the last five years.

As the challenge for growth becomes more and more competitive and complex, promotional programs become extremely important, which was the subject discussed at the Wine Table called by the Undersecretary Ivan Scalfarotto of the Ministry of Economic Development. “We have started a promotion program in China that will bring in 4.5 million euros in the coming months. This is an important measure for the sector, especially since calls for bids of the communication campaign on Italian wine in the US will start soon, and will be effective next fall: 20 million euros in the three-year period 2017-2019.