IWFI: in 2018 Italian wine shipments to the US were up +3.4% in value and down -2.4% in quantity

IWFI: in 2018 Italian wine shipments to the US were up + 3.4% in value and down -2.4% in quantity Italian wine exports to the US closed quite a challenging year 2018 recording an increase of + 3.4% in value, while quantity wise, instead, there was a decline of -2.4% for bottled still wines, according to US Department of Commerce data analyzed by the Italian Wine & Food Institute (https://iwfinews.com/), headed by Lucio Caputo. Caputo emphasized how the slow down of Italian wine shipments has been counterbalanced by the increase of French wines, which, on the other hand, grew +7% in quantity and +15.8% in value, firmly holding second position for value and third position for quantity of the wine exporting countries to the US market. In general, in 2018, US imports amounted to 8.64 million hectoliters, according to the Italian Wine & Food Institute, yielding 4.36 billion US dollars in value, which translates to less 8.3% decrease in quantity, but a + 3.3% increase in value. Wine exports from Italy, which for 2018 still remains the number one supplier country of still wines, both in value and quantity, have reached 2.49 million hectoliters, totaling a value of 1.4 billion dollars; i.e., a market share of 28.7% in quantity and 32% in value. France, in the meantime, stopped at 1.29 million hectoliters and 1.24 billion US dollars.
Sparkling wines are continuing to grow, driven by Prosecco, and its shipments in 2018 totaled 770.760 hectoliters, achieving a value of 444 million US dollars, marking an increase of +10.9% in quantity and +16.3% in value. Looking at the broader horizon, the real news of the year, actually, is the continuation of the expansion trend of rosé wines. Wine exports from the four main exporting countries - Italy, France, Australia and Chile, which together represent 73.8% of the total wine exports in quantity, monopolizing the US market - increased from 394.790 hectoliters, totaling 237 million US dollars in value in 2017 to 496.410 hectoliters, for a total of 325 million US dollars in value in 2018 (+25.7% in quantity and +37.4% in value); but they have all lost ground in the two main categories: white wines and red wines.