WINENEWS ANALYSIS – DROP IN CONSUMPTION IN WINE PRODUCING COUNTRIES, BUT EXPORTS ARE GROWING. ITALY, FRANCE AND SPAIN HIT RECORD LOWS, ONE BOTTLE IN THREE PRODUCED IN THE WORLD CONSUMED ABROAD NOT IN THE ORIGINAL "HOMELAND"

It might be the return of the charm of "exotic", or the fact that the economies of the historical leaders of the wine world are not particularly healthy, while emerging countries and economies are getting more and more "thirsty" for wine, and that promotional efforts and initiatives to expand markets are becoming stronger and more frequent, the fact is that more and more wine is bought far away from the country where it is produced. This trend, reports Winenews, is now a historical context- in the '80s, in the world, 1 bottle out of 5 was sold abroad, now the ratio is 1 to 3.

This “foreign” trend is widespread, which compensates for the drop in domestic consumption common to the major wine producers in the world: Italy, Spain and France. In Italy the per capita consumption continues its record fall: according to the Association of Italian Oenologists, Assoenologi, in 2011 it was 40 liters per capita (compared to the 120 liters in the 70s). In France the consumption statistics all have a minus sign: in 2010, the French drank 45.4 liters of wine per person, a 30% drop in 20 years (data from INSEE-French national Institute of Statistics). And it is no better in Spain, where from 1980 to 2010, according to the Observatorio Español del Mercado del Vino, consumption fell from 50 to 18 liters per person per year.

The positive counterpart is that exports in 2011 marked repeated records: Italy exceeded 4 billion euros in value for the first time, more or less the same as wine consumed in the "homeland" (the exact figure is 4.4 billion euros, ed.), which is an increase of 13% compared to 2010, and Spain registered a "monster" growth of +26.3% over 2010, for 2.2 billion euros. And even France, driven mainly by the recovery of Champagne, saw its exports reach higher figures than ever before: 10.1 billion euros for all alcohol beverages, of which seven alone for wine (+10.7% in value, data Federation of wines and spirits exporters).

The only major producer in the world (although volumes away from the European "three tenors") where both consumption and exports are on the rise is the United States, that has seen exports soar 21.7% in 2011 compared to 2010, for 1.39 billion dollars, and where per capita consumption is quickly headed to 10 liters per year. The real resource (but also more and more an obligatory channel) for major manufacturers, therefore, is export, because the consumption of wine worldwide, by 2015, according to an International Wine & Spirits Research, is expected to grow by 6.2%, when it should exceed 34 billion bottles.

Countries that produce very little or no wine at all or, not high quality will be driving this growth, as the numbers of Italian wine exports show in the top emerging economies, for example: China's exports grew by 87% over 2010, and Russia’s almost 50%. Not to mention countries that have huge potential and appreciate wine, but where imports are held back by heavy customs duties, such as India and Brazil. But, beyond the numbers, the trend is clear: wherever wine is produced, it is consumed more and more away from its “homeland”.