World Wine Statistics: Wine exports: Spain overtakes France, the New World steams ahead

The world’s biggest wine exporter is Italy with 17.2 Mhl (down from 18.5 Mhl in 2007). In second place we now have Spain: 16.5 Mhl (15.1 Mhl) and in third place France, with a big fall to 13.6 Mhl (compared to 15.2 in 2007). This means that Spain passes France and becomes the world’s second largest wine exporter. If you look at it in a longer perspective The New World is steaming ahead and growing its exports: in 2008 it is estimated that the “New World” accounts for 30% of world exports, compared to 60% for the EU’s Big Five (gy, Sp, Fr, It, Po). In the first half of the 80s the numbers were different: the New World 1.6% and The Big Five 76%. Keep in mind though that the pie is now much bigger, so the “demise” of the old world does not mean that they export less wine if you count in volume, only that they have lost market share on a growing market, which is often forgotten. (Source: OIV)