The National Institute of Viticulture (INV) released a preview of the report on Argentine wine volumes marketed in the domestic and international market during the 2012 January-May period, which amounted to 5,224,791 hl, registering an increase of 9.71% compared to the same period in 2011.
Analyzing Argentine wine destination, during January until May 2012, 1,480,121 hl were exported, suggesting a 39.76% increment in relation to last year. In May, turnover reached USD 83 million FOB for international shipments.
Also, 56,554 tons of must were marketed in the foreign market showing a 41.15% increase.
Bottle wine faces hardship
Wine exports went up 34.73% by volume and 16.82% by FOB US dollars. Once again, the increment is due to bulk wine exports.
The product that is in trouble is the most important of the value chain: bottled wine (including bag-in-box, tetra brick and bottle). In the analyzed period, bottled varietal wine fell 1.83% while bulk varietal wine grew 217%. Bottled wine in general dropped 2.91%, whereas bulk increased by 229%.
In general, bulk wine foreign sales rose by 279.86%, while bottled wine sales (adding all the products) decreased by 3.20%
As regards color, up to May, some business opportunities aroused with last year’s white table wine surpluses that brought about a 111% increase in white wine exports (especially bulk white wine), going from 298,500 hl to more than 630,000 hl. Red wine exports, on the other hand, only grew by 11.9%
By market
The main foreign destinations were the United States, Canada, Russia, Paraguay, Brazil, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Japan and Germany. In May, the US imported 131.470 hl for USD 34.7 million, positioning itself as the first export market by value for Argentina.
Varietal wines went up 27.11% by volume and 16.40% by FOB value.
For its part, generic varietal wines increased 58.40% by volume and 21.52% by FOB value.
Bulk shipments of generic varietal wine achieved a 293% growth and bottled wine dropped by 11.27%.
Generic white wine shipments grew 170% and red, 6.71%
Must
INV’s preview indicates that the volumes marketed in May in the foreign market amounted to 317,028 hl. of wine and 14,766 tons of concentrated must, while in the domestic market 878,636 hl of wine were commercialized.
May’s turnover for must exports reached around USD 23 million, suggesting a 27% increment in relation to May 2011.
Tags: January and May, Wine Exports
Comments
martin@gavilanvineyards »26 Julio 2012 @ 7:41 am |
We have to realize that these numbers may not be telling us the whole story. It is entirely plausible that several importers of ARG wines have decided it is cheaper to buy the wine bulk, ship it bulk and then bottle in their respective markets.
Keep in mind that we are a good bit away from the major wine markets, such as the US, our biggest market. Shipping bottles around the globe is expensive and especially for the lower end products, such as the US$6.99 wines offered in supermarkets, the difference in cost to ship can make a huge profit for the importer.
While twisted labor laws, thanks to Cristina and her misguided views, make it harder and harder to produce competitively, those buying our products will look for ways to make it work. The answer may just about lie right there, export ARG wine in bulk and bottle outside of Argentina.
What we really need to look at is the simple number of increase in exports. We are producing more wine than we did the year before, we are selling more wine on the world markets than we did the year before.
Its all good.