ROBERT BEYNAN, GENERAL DIRECTOR OF VINEXPO: “NOTWITHSTANDING THE ECONOMIC CRISIS AND THE RECESSION, THE FUTURE OF WINE IN THE WORLD LOOKS ROSY, THANKS ESPECIALLY TO TWO COUNTRIES: RUSSIA AND CHINA”

Vinexpo (set to take place in Bordeaux, France from 21 to 25 June 2009) will be offering a preview in Milan, Italy on March 31st with a conference that will present the study, “The world economic trend of the wine and alcohol sector and prospects from here to 2012”.

Some aspects of this study have already appeared in the media. The online daily, The Australian, for example, revealed that there would be a fantastic period in the future for wine regardless of the economic crisis and recession. And according to what has been revealed by Vinexpo analyses, the future of wine is, in fact, looking rosy thanks to two countries in particular: Russia and China. The director of Vinexpo, Robert Beynant, proclaimed, “The effects of the economic crisis will be limited”. The forecasts for Russia and China speak of a ‘fantastic increase’ in demand between 2008 and 2012: +24.4% in Russia and +36.6% in China. Wine lovers in these countries alone will be responsible for 58% of the overall growth of the global wine market from now until 2012. Russians and Chinese will eventually drink more wine than Spaniards.

Also according to the study, the demand for wine worldwide has increased by 6% from 2003 to 2007 (the study included 114 wine consuming countries and 28 producing countries). For wine production, “we expect an increase of 3.83% over the next 4 years at a global level, reaching 36 billion bottles”.