Norway’s wine imports decline in 2024 as demand shifts to packaged and Bag-in-Box formats

Norway reduced its wine imports in 2024, both in value and volume, according to customs data analyzed by S&P Global. The country imported wine worth 460 million euros, a decrease of 4.8% compared to 2023, and brought in 87 million liters, down 4.9%. This means Norway imported 23 million euros and 4.5 million liters less wine than the previous year.

All wine categories saw a drop in volume except for Bag-in-Box (BiB) wines, which increased by 6.3%. Despite a 3.3% drop in the average price, the value of BiB imports also rose by 2.8%. Bulk wine prices increased by 6.7%, but the category’s overall value fell sharply.

France and Italy remain Norway’s main wine suppliers. France led in value with exports worth 177 million euros, down 3.7% from 2023, while Italy followed with 115 million euros, a decrease of 7.8%. In terms of volume, Italy was first with over 23 million liters exported to Norway, down 6.1%, while France shipped nearly 21 million liters, down 4.2%. Spain ranked fourth in value and third in volume, with its exports falling by 2.2%. Spain is close to Germany in volume but lags behind in value—Spain invoiced 35 million euros compared to Germany’s 41 million—highlighting a difference in average price.

Packaged wines (including sparkling, bottled, and BiB) saw their import value fall by 3.1%, but the imported volume rose slightly by 0.5%, which led to a reduction of the average price by 3.6%. Bulk wine imports dropped significantly, though this category represents a small share of total imports.

By type, all wine categories declined in value except for BiB wines, which grew by 2.8%. Bulk wine suffered the largest drop at -76.5%, reaching just 2.58 million euros in imports for the year. Bottled wine imports fell by 3.6% in value to reach nearly 291 million euros, while BiB wines accounted for about 86 million euros. Sparkling wine imports decreased by almost 7% to reach 81 million euros.

In terms of volume, BiB wines were the only category to grow (+6.3%), reaching over 35 million liters imported. Bottled wines saw a smaller decline than other categories, dropping by just 2.6% to about 41 million liters.

Packaged wines made up the majority of Norwegian imports: they represented about two-thirds of total import value and nearly half of total import volume in 2024.

Looking at trends since 2017, all categories except bulk wine have shown positive compound annual growth rates (CAGR) in value. Bulk wine has declined at an average rate of -15.5% per year since then, while sparkling wine has grown fastest at +6.3% CAGR.

France and Italy continue as leaders among suppliers both in value and volume. France held a market share of nearly 38.4% in value with exports worth almost 177 million euros; Italy had a quarter of the market with about 115 million euros; Spain was fourth with a market share of about 7.6%. Australia and Austria saw double-digit drops in export values to Norway this year.

In volume terms, Italy led with over 23 million liters (27% market share), followed by France (20.7 million liters; nearly one-quarter share). Spain exported about 8.5 million liters (9.5% share), down slightly from last year.

The average price for Spanish wine exported to Norway dropped by more than three percent to just over four euros per liter; overall Norwegian import prices averaged about €5.28 per liter (+0.1%). French wines saw their average price rise slightly (+0.5%), while Italian wines became cheaper (-1.8%). Chilean wines also dropped in price (-7.6%). U.S.-origin wines recorded the highest increase in average price (+14.8%), followed by Portuguese (+4.6%) and South African (+4.9%) wines.

For sparkling wines, France remained dominant with over half the market share both in value and volume—exporting almost four million liters worth more than fifty million euros—while Italy and Spain trailed behind.

In bottled still wines, Italy and France have been top suppliers for more than eight years; Germany overtook Spain for third place since 2021 and now holds about ten percent of the market’s value share.

Bag-in-Box wines are unique: Spain is not among the top four suppliers here; instead, Italy leads both in value (26%) and volume (23%), followed by France, Germany, and Chile.

Bulk wine imports into Norway collapsed this year: values fell more than three-quarters to just under three million euros; volumes dropped from over six million liters last year to just under one and a half million this year—a decrease of almost eighty percent.

Australia is now the leading supplier of bulk wine by volume (24%), followed closely by the United States (24%) and Italy (20%). The U.S., however, has seen its bulk wine shipments fall dramatically since 2017.

Spain increased its share of Norway’s bulk wine market since that year but still saw its own exports drop sharply this year.

Norway imported wine from fifty-seven countries worldwide during the year.

The data shows that Norwegian consumers are shifting toward packaged formats like Bag-in-Box even as overall demand softens slightly across most categories and origins—except for some notable exceptions like U.S., Portuguese, and South African wines that have managed to command higher prices despite lower or stable volumes.

The Norwegian market remains highly competitive among European producers—especially France, Italy, Germany, and Spain—with each country adjusting strategies as consumer preferences evolve amid changing economic conditions and pricing trends throughout Europe’s northernmost markets.