Germany cuts wine imports

According to data from German customs, Germany reduced its wine imports by 4.6% in volume from January to September 2024, reaching approximately 972 million liters. The decline in value was even steeper, dropping by 9.3% to €1,792.4 million, as the average price fell by 4.9% to €1.84 per liter. Despite the decline, Germany remains the world's largest wine importer by volume. However, in terms of value, it lags significantly behind the United States and the United Kingdom, which dominate global markets with higher-value wines. Germany's focus on lower-value wines highlights its position as a distinct market segment.

Bulk wine maintained its position as the most imported category by volume, experiencing a smaller decline (-2.9%) compared to the overall average (-4.6%). It accounted for 555.9 million liters, representing 57.2% of total imports. Bottled wine followed with a 5.4% decrease to 354.7 million liters, while sparkling wine imports suffered the largest drop (-18.1%), amounting to 40.1 million liters. Bag-in-box wines also fell by 6.2%, reaching 21.2 million liters.

In value terms, bottled wine remained the leading category, representing 61% of total wine imports despite a 10.6% decrease to €1,099.2 million. Bulk wine was the only category to see an increase in value, rising by 3% to €367.2 million. Sparkling wine generated €289.9 million (-17%), while bag-in-box wines declined by 10.7% to €36.2 million. Price trends varied across categories, with bulk and sparkling wines increasing by 6.1% (€0.66/liter) and 1.3% (€7.23/liter), respectively. Bottled wine prices fell by 5.6% to €3.10/liter, and bag-in-box prices dropped by 4.8% to €1.70/liter.

Germany sourced wine from 64 countries during this period, with Spain, Italy, and France dominating the market, collectively accounting for over 80% of total imports. Spain was the only country among the top three suppliers to increase both volume and value. It surpassed Italy as the largest wine supplier by volume, delivering 334.2 million liters (+6.9%), while Italy dropped 14.4% to 325.7 million liters. In value terms, Italy retained the top spot with €685.9 million (-9%), at an average price of €2.11/liter (+6.3%). Spain ranked third in value, with €284.5 million (+2.5%) at the lowest average price of all analyzed countries (€0.85/liter, -4%). France, the third-largest supplier by volume and second by value, saw declines in both categories, delivering 128.1 million liters (-1.7%) valued at €493.2 million (-14.2%). France's average price of €3.85/liter (-12.8%) remained higher than other suppliers but lower than its international market average.

South Africa maintained its position as the fourth-largest supplier by volume with 33.4 million liters (-2.1%), followed by Austria with 30.9 million liters (-0.6%). Austria ranked fourth in value with €67 million (-6.7%), while the United States came in fifth with €41.5 million (+6.9%), one of the few countries alongside Spain to register value growth among the top ten suppliers. In volume terms, Chile, Hungary, the United States, and Portugal recorded increases, while Australia and Portugal showed significant declines.