UK imports decline and Netherlands takes over

Bottled wine exports continued to rise over the first quarter of this year, surpassing the poor figures of previous months: volume increased by 17.7% (in number of cases) and turnover was up by over 29%, according to statistical information provided by Área Premium (Área del Vino), based on data by the consulting company MRT.

There is also good news for sparkling wines, which experienced an increase of 47.7% in volume and 36.5% in value in the first quarter of 2010.

However, the scenario for bulk wine exports is still worrying: volume fell by 63.5% and there was a 31.8% drop in value between January and March of 2010 with respect to the same period in 2009.

Must exports to the main destinations are not doing any better, as they suffered a quarter-on-quarter decline of 9% in volume and 12% in turnover.

Full speed ahead for bottled wines

Bottled wine exports are taking the lead. The United States is still leading the list as it bought 1.75 million cases of Argentinian bottled wine at nearly USD 58 million in the first quarter of 2010, which represents 30% and 28% growth respectively.

Canada is next on the list, with a rise in volume (10%) that was not as substantial as it was in value (48%). This was due to a 33.5% increase in the average price per case exported to that country, which reached USD 33.5, as compared to USD 25 last year.

Netherlands is moving up in the ranking of main export destinations, as Argentinian exports to that market recorded an increase of 36.5% in turnover and 29% in volume.

Next and fourth on the list is Brazil, a country that showed a marked resurgence in terms of Argentinian wine purchases, with a 109% growth in value in the period under analysis, partly due to the rise in the price per case, which increased from 23 to nearly 30 dollars.

Ranking low in the fifth place is the United Kingdom, which practically went missing from Argentina’s list of export destinations in January this year. Though it rallied slightly in February/March, it suffered a drop of 23.4% in volume and 9% in value.

Very much unlike the UK, Paraguay proved to be a booming export destination: sales to that country increased by 120% in volume and 64% in turnover.

Bottled wine exports to Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland have also shown a good performance. Together with Mexico, this group is within the top 10 import countries, with a 10% growth in value and a slight decrease in volume.

In terms of price range, the following categories are clearly thriving: Premium lines (USD 20 to 27), with a 37.2% increase, Super Premium lines (USD 27 to 40), with a 25.3% increase, and Ultra Premium lines (USD 40 to 360), with an all-time high growth of 46% in value. Special mention should be made of exports of iconic wines, whose performance was not so impressive in volume (2 to 3 thousand cases), yet doubled in value.

Sparkling wines

The good fortune of sparkling wines is linked, in the first place, to exports into the United States, whose value increased by 24.6%, and also to other export destinations which are enhancing their performance: Brazil, which practically doubled its investment in Argentinian sparkling wines – despite being a sparkling wine producer itself, Colombia, nearly on a par with Brazil, with an exceptional 328% growth in just one year, Paraguay with an increase of over 200%, Japan up 132% and Perú with a 310% rise in value. Venezuela’s appearance on the scene is also worth mentioning, as the value of the Argentinian sparkling wine imported by this country increased from 1,000 to 86,000 dollars, quarter-on-quarter.

Translation: Inglés del Vino

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Tags: bottled wine, Exports, International Markets