Global bulk wine exports fell 18.9% to 7.1 million hectoliters in the first quarter.

Global bulk wine exports fell sharply in the first quarter of 2026, dropping by about 1.65 million hectoliters from a year earlier, even as average prices stayed almost unchanged, according to a fresh analysis circulated by Wine Business Observer based on an earlier Vinexposium report.

The trade data show that bulk wine shipments reached 7.1 million hectoliters between January and March, with a total value of €566 million. That was down 18.9% in volume and 18.8% in value from the same period a year earlier. Based on the reported percentages, the comparable level was about 8.75 million hectoliters and roughly €696.8 million, implying an absolute decline of around €130.8 million. The figures are approximate because they are calculated from rounded data.

The average declared price was broadly stable at €80 per hectoliter, up just 0.1%. That means the contraction came mainly from fewer shipments rather than from a broad fall in reported prices. For exporters that rely on large physical flows, the drop matters beyond sales revenue because lower volumes can reduce the use of storage, transport, and bottling capacity across the supply chain.

The figures also point to a wider slowdown. Over the 12 months ending in March 2026, global bulk wine trade totaled 30 million hectoliters worth €2.3 billion, down 10.3% in volume and 11.8% in value. That longer view suggests the weakness seen at the start of 2026 was not an isolated quarter but part of a market that has been under pressure for several years.

The data and explanation came from a Vinexposium article published in July that cited Rafael del Rey, a market analyst at Del Rey AWM. Wine Business Observer revisited the report on Sept. 7, but the publication did not present it as a new statistical release for that date. Instead, it drew attention again to the earlier first-quarter findings and their implications for the market.

Del Rey said one major reason for the downturn was a drop in trade between producer countries, especially Spanish shipments to Italy and France. Those flows depend heavily on harvest size and short-term supply needs. In 2025, Italy’s harvest was large enough to cover domestic consumption and export requirements, reducing the need for imports from Spain. France faced a broadly similar situation, the report said. As a result, Spain’s bulk wine exports fell by 23% in the first quarter of 2026.

A second source of weakness came from Pacific exporters, particularly Australia and New Zealand, and their sales to the United Kingdom and the United States. The U.S. market remained difficult for wine in general, including bulk wine. U.S. bulk wine imports fell by 22% by volume in the first quarter, according to the report. The United Kingdom also imported less bulk wine, though the decline there was smaller at 3.7%.

Those shifts are important because bulk wine trade is often driven by large, price-sensitive transactions between major producing and consuming countries. When harvest conditions improve in importing producer countries, cross-border purchases can fall quickly. That leaves exporting countries with fewer outlets and can create pressure throughout the logistics chain, from shipping and warehousing to packaging and blending operations.

At the same time, the Vinexposium report said some new and less traditional destinations are emerging and could partly offset weaker demand in long-established markets. The article did not present those new outlets as a full solution to the decline, but it suggested that changing trade routes may play a larger role as exporters adjust to lower purchases from the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, and France.

The combination of stable prices and shrinking physical trade offers a mixed signal for the industry. On one hand, the lack of a broad price collapse suggests that the market has not moved into a deep discount cycle across the board. On the other hand, the loss of volume is significant in a business where scale matters. Bulk wine is a segment built on moving large quantities efficiently, and a near-19% quarterly fall in shipments can affect margins even if the average euro-per-hectoliter value does not change much.

The reported average price of €80 per hectoliter also masks differences between origins, destinations, wine categories, and contract terms. But at the global level, the first-quarter figures indicate that the market’s main problem was not a sudden erosion in quoted values. It was weaker demand for physical product in some of the trade’s biggest routes.

The downturn since 2021, noted in the Vinexposium analysis, comes as wine markets in several countries face broader pressure from softer consumption, changing consumer habits, and uneven harvest cycles. In bulk trade, those forces can show up quickly because transactions are closely tied to supply gaps, blending needs, and cost management by large buyers.

For Spain, the weaker first quarter was especially notable because it is one of the world’s leading bulk wine suppliers and is deeply exposed to shifts in demand from neighboring producer countries. When Italy and France buy less, the effect on Spain can be immediate. For Australia and New Zealand, lower demand from the United States and the United Kingdom adds another layer of difficulty in markets that have already become more challenging for wine sales overall.

The first-quarter numbers therefore describe a market where average pricing held steady but trade flows weakened sharply, cutting global shipments to 7.1 million hectoliters and reducing turnover to €566 million in just three months.