Italian wine & export, first semester 2025 in unstable balance: -0.4% in value -3.1% in volume

Istat data on Italian wine exports, analyzed by WineNews and updated to June 2025, shows a slight improvement while still maintaining a “light” deficit compared to the first half of 2024. And, therefore, -0.47% drop in value (compared to -0.82% in May), totaling 3.8 billion euros, and a -3.1% drop in volume (it was -3.8% in May 2025), exceeding one million liters. Once again, a confirmation: despite Trump’s tariffs, 10% until early August, and 15% for some weeks, the United States, along with Canada, continue to show positive results. Meanwhile, the decline, especially in value, is mainly due to the collapse of the Russian market and a slowdown in some key European markets, such as Germany and the Uk, as well as in Asia, from China to Japan. Sparkling wines also show signs of recovery in the latest data, improving from -1% to -0.4% in value, reaching 1 billion euros, while volume figures turn positive at 254.1 million liters (+0.1%). So, at the halfway point of the year, Italian wine, despite its challenges and awaiting the heavier impact of U.S. tariffs, remains close to 2024 figures, which was hailed as a record year, maintaining a substantial balance, at least in terms of value, despite being clearly “precarious” given the many uncertainties, difficulties, and crises characterizing this phase of global history.
Looking at individual markets, the United States continues to lead with 988.4 million euros in value (+5.2% compared to the first half of 2024), despite a slight slowdown, and 179.9 million liters (+1.1%). Germany, the leading European market, stands at 573.2 million euros in value (-1.8%), continuing to decline in volume to 234.5 million liters (-7.4%). The United Kingdom remains in third place, but drops to 370.1 million euros in value (-4.5%), and 118 million liters in volume (-2.1%). Canada shows strong growth, likely due to tensions with the U.S. and a shift in purchasing decisions, reaching 197.7 million euros (+12.8%), and 34.9 million liters (+6.6%), surpassing Switzerland, which remains stable (+0.4%) at 194.9 million euros.
France, the leading wine power in terms of value, continues its positive relationship with Italian wine, with exports reaching 158 million euros in the first half of 2025 (+1.85%). The Netherlands also remains in positive territory (+0.8%) at 125 million euros, while Belgium shows a slight decline, importing 106.7 million euros from January to June 2025 (-0.5%). Remaining in Europe, Sweden drops to 96.8 million euros (-2.7%), while in Asia, Japan performs worse at 87.6 million euros, a 7.4% decline compared to the first half of 2024.
Russia sees a sharp decline (-37.5%) to 75.6 million euros (over 45 million euros lost compared to January-June 2024), and, to a lesser extent, Austria, which sums a value of export of 75.3 million euros (-4.3%). No surprise from the lack of good news from China, for Italian wine with export, which, in the land of the Dragon, stopped at 33.6 million euros, a dramatic -21.7%, allowing Australia to surpass it at 34.5 million euros (+0.5%), with South Korea approaching 26.3 million euros (+0.9%). Brazil is growing, though still remaining a marginal market, reaching 18.6 million euros (+5.5%, but dropping from May), with the country of South America, which, according to some industry experts, is one to watch for the future of Italian wine.