Paris. Global wine consumption fell last year to its lowest level since 1996, as inflation raised prices to record levels, deterring consumers already facing lower purchasing power, the International Vineyard Organization reported Thursday. the Wine (OIV).
The Paris-based OIV estimated global wine consumption in 2023 at 221 million hectoliters (mhl), 2.6 percent less than in 2022 and 7.5 percent less than in 2018. One hectoliter is equivalent to 133 bottles of wine standard.
Geopolitical tensions, particularly the war in Ukraine and subsequent energy crises, together with disruptions in the global supply chain, led to higher production and distribution costs, which in turn led to significant price increases for consumers, which curbed overall demand, the OIV said.
Steep drop in China
The drop in demand last year was especially significant in China, with a 25 percent decline.
While Chinese wine consumption had risen sharply at the turn of the century, in line with a growing middle class, it has lost more than 60 percent in the past five years, to 6.8 mhl, due to restrictions imposed by Covid-19. and to price pressures, which tend to have a greater effect in younger markets, OIE Director General John Barker told reporters.
In terms of trade, the total volume of wine exchanges fell 6.3 percent to 99 mhl, but only 4.7 percent in value to 36 billion euros ($38.6 billion), as the average price of a liter of wine reached a record, said the OIV.
The OIV further lowered its forecast for last year’s wine production to 237 mhl from an initial forecast of 244 mhl published last November, now placing it ten percent below 2022 levels and the lowest in more than 60 years.
The sharp decline is due to bad weather, including early frosts, heavy rain and drought, along with widespread fungal diseases in the northern and southern hemispheres.
In Italy the lowest production in 70 years
Italy produced its lowest wine harvest since 1950, at 38.3 mhl, a decline of more than 23 percent from the previous year, thus losing its wine leadership to France.
By 2024, preliminary estimates for the southern hemisphere pointed to a rebound in the two largest producers, Australia and Argentina, after a sharp decline last year, but they would remain 4 and 6 percent, respectively, below the 2018 average. -2023.
A cold spring and late harvest would lead Chile to produce less wine for the third year in a row, with 17 percent less on average.
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– 2024-04-28 09:08:20
