Italian wine, non-EU exports remain positive in first half 2024, but growth slows

At the halfway mark of 2024, Italian wine is still sailing with a hold full of positive data, toward markets in non-EU countries. But the wind in its sails is fading, with the cruising speed, especially in the month of June, noticeably decreasing. According to data from the Unione Italiana Vini (UIV) and Vinitaly Observatory, in fact, “exports in the first half of the year to non-EU countries remain on positive ground for Italian wine. With almost 4.7 million hectoliters exported between January and June and a final balance of the six months at 2.1 billion euros, with the non-EU that is confirmed, thus, the marketplace-locomotive, in the face of a hitherto significantly colder EU demand”. But, “as predicted by the Uiv-Vinitaly Observatory, which has processed the latest official export data relating to the 12 top demand countries” (and as already highlighted by Istat data on the first 5 months at the global level analyzed by WineNews, ed.) there is a progressive slowdown, “made even more evident by a very negative last month (-10% in volume and -7% in value the trend variation for sparkling and bottled still and sparkling, with -13.5% in quantity for the latter)”, the Observatory explains. Compared to the first 5 months of 2024, total volume for the six-month period went from +10% in May to +6.3% in mid-year, while in value the figure went from +7.3% to +4.7%. All of the 12 top non-EU demand countries - with the exception of South Korea, Mexico and Australia - record a retreat in the last month in orders for still and sparkling Italian bottled wines, which thus close the six-month period by halving the volume growth recorded just 30 days earlier (+4.4% vs. +8.5%), with values falling from +6% to +3.5%. Declining, but less pronounced, is the hitherto very positive trend in sparkling wines, whose exported volumes go from +18% to +14.5%, with values from +12.3% to +9.3%.
The overall average price for the six-month period is on a trend of -1.5%. “In addition to the predictable nosedive in purchases from Russia (-25%) and Japan (-10%) - which had recorded a conspicuous advance in orders in the first four months - in June the Uiv-Vinitaly Observatory notes significantly slowing volume performances in particular for the UK (-15%), Switzerland (-12%), Canada (-18%) and China (-12.5%). Signs of fatigue also come from the U.S. (-4.8%, with +1% in value), which remains in positive territory during the six-month period although growth - supported by sparkling wines - is less evident (from +4.5% in May to +2.9% in June). In the U.S. market, the last month in fact accentuated the gap between demand for still and sparkling bottled wines (-9% in volume trend in June) and that for sparkling wines (+5%).