SPEAKING about the state of the wine industry worldwide from the International Organisation of Vine & Wine headquarters in Dijon, France, the OIV’s director general John Barker (of New Zealand) stressed the downward trend in consumption, rising prices and inflation that continues to “bite”. The key highlights in the organisation’s 2024 report (2023 data) were as follows:

• A decline in the world’s vineyard surface area for the third year in succession, with uprooting taking place around the globe and the total area under vine put at 7.2 million hectares.
• A 9.6% drop in wine production in 2023 relative to 2022, with the annual output of 237 million hecolitres – the lowest since 1961 – ascribed mainly to extreme climatic conditions and widespread fungal diseases impacting many vineyards worldwide.
• A 2.6% decline in global consumption, estimated at 221 million hectolitres in 2023, with contributing factors including a spike in production and distribution costs leading to higher wine prices for consumers already dealing with diminishing purchasing power.
• A drop in the volume of global wine exports to 99 million hectolitres, although export value was up to €36 billion – the average price per litre of export wine at a record high of €3.62 per litre.

South Africa’s vineyard area reduced by around 2% to 122 000 hectares – the ninth consecutive year of decline, attributed in part to severe droughts between 2015 and 2017. The country is now ranked 14th among the world’s major vine-growing countries, with the top four comprising Spain, France, China and Italy, whose vineyards collectively account for nearly 45% of the total internationally.

Ranked seventh in terms of the world’s major wine producers, South Africa’s wine production in 2023 was estimated at 9.3 million hectolitres, down 10% compared to 2022, with the harvest heavily impacted by disease in the vineyards. While France, the biggest wine producer in the world (48mhl) experienced a volume increase of over 4%, with the USA’s production (estimated at 24mhl) up 8% and Portugal’s (7.5mhl) up 7%, most of the other major wine-producing countries experienced a decline: Italy (28mhl) down 23%, Spain (28mhl) down 21%, Chile (11mhl) down 11%, Australia (9.6mhl) down 26%, Argentina (8.8mhl) down 23% and Germany (8.6mhl) down 4%.

Regarding wine exports, South Africa ranks sixth in terms of volume (3.5mhl, down 20%), and 11th in terms of value (€571m, down 13.5%). The leading exporters volume wise are Italy (21mhl), Spain (21mhl), France (12.7mhl ), Chile (6.8mhl) and Australia (6mhl). Similar to South Africa, Spain and Australia export a greater volume of wine in bulk than they do in bottle – 52%, 57% and 63% respectively. Whereas value wise, the top exporters are France (€11 937m), Italy (€7735m), Spain (€2910m), Chile (€1411m), Australia (€1243m), New Zealand (€1200m), the USA (€1133m) and Germany (€1055m).

The biggest wine-consuming countries are the USA at 33mhl (down 3%), France at 24mhl (down 2%), Italy at 22mhl (down 2%), Germany at 19mhl (down 1.6%), the UK at 13mhl (down 3%) and Spain at 10mhl (up 2%). South Africa’s wine consumption in 2023 was put at 4.5mhl (down 2%).

When it comes to those countries importing the most wine, the USA is the biggest spender at €6185m (12mhl), followed by the UK at €4663m (12mhl), Germany at €2648m (13.6mhl), and then Canada at €1846m (4mhl), Japan at €1644m (2mhl), the Netherlands at €1518m (4mhl), Belgium at €1174m (3mhl) China at €1072m (2.5mhl), France at €957 (6mhl), Sweden at €832m (2mhl) and Italy at €547m (2mhl).

For country-by-country figures regarding the biggest wine producers on the basis of volume, vineyards and exports as well as the largest importers and consumers of wine, click here. For the OIV’s full report, click here.

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