WINE & EXPORT TRENDS FOR ITALIAN WINE – VOLUME INCREASES AND THE DECREASE IN VALUE SLOWS DOWN DURING THE FIRST HALF OF 2009 ACCORDING TO ASSOENOLOGI

Giving it away is not an option, but a reasonable lowering of the price of Italian wines and therefore the profit margins for companies in order to confront an economic situation that is the worst since that of 1929, would allow Italy to maintain its market quota from competitors while waiting for an economic rebound. This situation would not, however, be sustainable for long for the more fragile elements of the sector. These are the conclusions that have emerged from an analysis of the first half of 2009 by Assoenologi.

Though the reduction in value of 1,560 million euros or -7.3% over 2008 marked a sharp decrease, the record amount of 9 million hectoliters exported in 2008 demonstrates a dynamic increase of +6.9%. And it is exactly along these lines where two significant variations resulted: though the hardest hit were sparkling wines (-25.2%), followed by bulk wine (-15.2%), and bottled wine (-11.9%), it is precisely sparkling wine, on the other hand, that increased the most its export volumes (+10.2%), followed by bulk wine (+8.7%) and bottled wine (+4.4%).

According to the director of Assoenologi, Giuseppe Martelli, this opposing and apparently schizophrenic trend synthesizes exactly what the international demand has become, oriented towards higher quality products at lower prices. It is a demand that is increasing and which is continuously more concentrated among large-scale distributors, and which also finds ample supply from Italy.

The hardest hit export market is the United States while the European Union holds steady and, according to Assoenologi, is the key market to use to get out of the market.