2014 will be a positive year for the production and export of wine. Today is the first official day of the harvest and Coldiretti takes advantage of the opportunity to disseminate forecast data for the coming year: a production of 42 million hectoliters, ie about 3% more than last year. The production of white wines – added Coldiretti – should slightly exceed that of reds.
The numbers speak for a healthy sector, which generates a turnover of over 9 billion and employs 1,2 million people. The 2013 harvest will involve 650 hectares of vineyards and over 250 wineries.
Italy becomes the second world producer after France which churns out 46 million hectoliters (+11% compared to last year). Spain is in third place, followed by the United States and China, which is also growing strongly in terms of consumption. It must be emphasized, however, that in Italy less and less wine is drunk: Italian consumption fell to an all-time low in 2012 since the unification of Italy at 22,6 million hectoliters, compared to 30,3 million hectoliters in France which maintains its world record.
In United States, where Italian labels have earned the sales record to the detriment of their French colleagues, imports are decreasing by about 6% (a loss of almost 2 million dollars in value). Even the sales of Italian wines in the United States saw their growth halve, according to the estimates of the Italian Wine and Food Institute reported by Winenews (from +10,7% at the beginning of 2013 to +1,9 at mid-year).
