Italian wine exports reach €5.1 billion in the first eight months of the year

Italian wine exports globally amounted to €5.17 billion in turnover in the first eight months of 2024, up by 4.7% compared to €4.94 billion during the same period in 2023. ISTAT data, elaborated by Tre Bicchieri, indicate that after a record-breaking July in terms of purchases, August remained essentially stable in value (€542 million, -0.9%) compared to 2023.

Voblumes of Italian wine shipped abroad also increased by more than 3%, rising from 1.37 billion litres to 1.42 billion litres. The average price per litre increased to €3.64. This appears to signal a modest recovery for Italian wine accounts abroad after a dismal 2023, creating the possibility of reaching the €8 billion target by the end of 2024 if the percentage increase remains around +5% during the remaining months (September-December).

Sparkling wines continue to grow

Among the wine categories, sparkling wines showed significant growth in turnover and remain the driving force of Italian wine exports, with an +8.8% increase over eight months, reaching €1.47 billion. The volume of sparkling wines exported also rose to 343 million litres, up from 306 million litres in the first eight months of 2023, marking a 12% increase.

Still wines in bottles under 2 litres saw volumes grow from 761 million litres to 793 million litres (+4.2%), with spending rising from €3.28 billion to €3.41 billion (+3.8%).

Among bottled products, the category of still red Dop wines, particularly from Tuscany, Piedmont, Veneto, Trentino-Alto Adige, and Sicily, recorded €898 million in exports (+3% compared to 2023), with a slight increase in volume from 104 to 106 million litres (+2%).

Declines were observed in wine packaged in containers between 2 and 10 litres (including bag-in-box formats), dropping from €77 million to €71 million (-7.5%) with volumes down to 31 million litres (-5.7%) from January to August 2024.

Among sparkling wine denominations, Prosecco Dop saw volumes increase by 22% and values rise by over 10% to €1.1 billion. On the other hand, Asti Spumante Dop declined (-2% in value and -4% in volume).

Markets: positive in the US and Canada, declines in Switzerland and Belgium

Among the main importers of Italian wine in the first eight months of 2024, positive value trends were recorded for the United States (+7.9% to €1.25 billion), Canada (+3.6% to €254.3 million), Germany (+4.65% to €765 million), the Netherlands (+7% to €159 million), and Sweden (+4.8% to €131 million).

The UK market remained stable (€520 million), while France saw a slight decline (-1% to €201 million), alongside a negative trade balance for Italy, given imports exceeding €220 million.

Other declines were recorded in Switzerland (-3% to €252 million) and Belgium (-1.4% to €140 million).

In Russia, values soared by over 70% from January to August, reaching €154 million. Notably, August alone in the former Soviet market rose from €9.8 million in 2023 to €15.5 million in 2024 (+58%, with €8.5 million linked to sparkling wines). Export volumes increased from 3.44 million litres to 4.38 million litres (+27%, half of which were sparkling wines).

Meanwhile, the Chinese market continued to decline, with just €57.1 million in exports (-10.5%). Japan saw growth, reaching €129 million (+2.6%), while South Korea dropped to €32.9 million (-3.8%). Brazil performed well, with €26.7 million in exports and a +20% increase in the first eight months of 2024.

Analysis of volumes

Considering purchase volumes in individual destination markets, ISTAT data show increases in Italian wine shipments to the United States (+3.9% to 233.6 million litres), Canada (+2.44%), the Netherlands (+9%), and Sweden (+9%).

The UK market experienced slight growth (+0.5%), while declines were recorded in Germany (-1%), Switzerland (-2.5%), France (-4.2%), and Belgium (-0.5%).

Russia experienced a significant increase (+60%), while Japan showed positive growth (+16.5%), and South Korea rose slightly (+5.5%). The Chinese market declined (-2.6%).

In South America, Brazil showed notable growth, with a +22% increase in the January-to-August period.