Despite the advance of theEuropean agri-food exports, wine It is slowing down precisely where it matters most: in the United States. This is evident from the European Commission report published on March 13 on the trend of agri-food trade in 2025. Last year, the EU recorded a new all-time high for agri-food sales: €238,4 billion, +1% compared to 2024. However, imports grew faster (to €188,6 billion, approximately +9%) and the trade balance narrowed, thus reducing the surplus to €49,9 billion.
In this scenario, the United States remain the second destination of EU agri-food exports (about 12% of total), but they are also the market with the greatest contraction: -1,8 billion (-6%), to 28,6 billion. The Commission highlights how the EU decline in the United States is linked to the reduction of certain categories, including wine and wine-based products:
- in 2025, EU exports of wine and wine-derived products will fall to 16,4 billion, a decrease of approximately -1,0 billion (-6%) compared to 2024.
- The United States accounts for 27% of EU wine exports, a significant burden for producers and supply chains.
EU wine exports to the US decline, a key market for the sector.
In 2025 theexport of Italian wine It closed at €7,78 billion, down 3,7%, with volumes at 21 million hectoliters (-1,9%). And the US chapter is the most significant:
- the value drops to 1,76 billion euros (-9,2%, equal to -178 million);
- The United States represents approximately 23% of Italian wine's foreign turnover: in practice, almost one euro in four of the sector's exports.
Le sector processing show a very different dynamic between the first and second semester:
- 1st semester: value +5,3% (volumes +1,3%) compared to the same period of the previous year;
- 2nd half-year: value -22,8% (volumes -13,4%).
Thus, a sudden shift emerges in the second half of the year. This signals a need to consider demand cycles, promotions, tensions in average prices, and increased distribution selectivity.
