EU-27 Annual Wine Report 2009; Consumption to Fall Due to Economic Downturn(9)

EU/27 WINE EXPORTS
GAIN Report - E49021 Page 9 of 15
UNCLASSIFIED USDA Foreign Agricultural Service
Quantity in 1,000 hectoliters
Value in million dollars
Country of
Destination
2006 2007 2008
Quantity Value Quantity Value Quantity Value
U.S. 4,394 2,811 4,765 3,119 4,610 3,106
Russia 4,104 377 4,184 517 3,281 572
Switzerland 1,564 749 1,610 901 1,563 1,113
Canada 1,512 683 1,515 776 1,524 864
Japan 1,139 745 1,082 780 1,132 873
Angola 938 71 886 87 847 103
China 464 83 373 153 517 208
Norway 453 174 505 239 496 273
Nigeria 506 16 206 33 359 66
Brazil 201 76 232 99 226 113
TOTAL WORLD 17,637 6,960 18,461 8,281 17,588 9,152
Source: Global Trade Atlas
The U.S. remains the leading export destination market (26 percent of the total in volume
and 34 percent in value), for both French (1.2 billion dollars in 2007 and 1.1 billion in
January-November 2008) and Italian (1.1 billion dollars in both 2007 and January-November
2008) wines. In volume terms, Italian exports to the U.S. are more than double French
shipments. Russia is the second largest importer of EU wines (based on volume), although
shipments to Russia declined remarkably in 2008 (-22 percent), and are mainly represented
by inexpensive Bulgarian and Spanish wines. Exports to other principle destinations, as
shown in the above table, have been fairly stable in 2008.
The EU is not only the largest wine exporter in the world, but also the largest importer. After
deducting intra-EU trade, the EU’s 2008 imports from third countries accounted for about one
third of the total world wine trade. The main countries of origin remain, as can be seen from
the table below, Australia, Chile and South Africa. Total imports, in any case, after the record
high level reported in 2007, declined slightly (-4 percent) in 2008, and are not expected to
recover in 2009, due to the downward consumption trend.
EU/27 WINE IMPORTS
Quantity in 1,000 hectoliters