Spain’s Wine Imports Rose 65.2% on a Surge in Bulk Shipments From Chile

Spain imported 64.5 million liters of wine in the first half of 2026, up 65.2% from the same period a year earlier, as a sharp rise in bulk wine purchases pushed volumes to the highest level in the 2019-2026 series tracked by Spain’s wine interprofessional body. The value of those imports rose far more slowly, increasing 14.4% to 172.9 million euros, while the average price paid fell 30.8% to 2.68 euros a liter.

The figures, based on data from Spain’s tax agency and analyzed by the Spanish Wine Interprofessional Organization, or OIVE, show that the gap between volume growth and spending growth was driven mainly by low-priced bulk wine. That shift also changed the map of Spain’s suppliers. Chile became Spain’s top wine supplier by volume in the first half, shipping 23.9 million liters after multiplying its sales to Spain by more than seven. France remained the clear leader by value, with 93.6 million euros in sales.

The first-half total of 64.5 million liters was only slightly above the previous volume high in the period, set in 2020 at 64.3 million liters. The difference in spending between those two years was much larger. Spain spent about 75 million euros on imported wine in the first half of 2020, compared with nearly 173 million euros this year, reflecting a much higher average price than in 2020 even after the decline recorded in 2026.

The recent swings have been pronounced. In the first half of 2019, Spain imported 21.8 million liters for about 93 million euros, an average of 4.25 euros a liter. In 2020, volume jumped to 64.3 million liters, but value fell to roughly 75 million euros and the average price dropped to 1.17 euros a liter, the lowest point in the series presented by OIVE. Volumes then fell back in 2021 to 22.6 million liters, while spending recovered to about 96 million euros and the average price returned to 4.23 euros a liter.

In 2022, Spain imported 33.8 million liters for about 141 million euros, with an average price of 4.17 euros a liter. In the first half of 2023, the average price reached the highest level in the series at 5.81 euros a liter, with imports of 27.1 million liters worth about 158 million euros. In 2024, volume rose to 41.4 million liters, but spending slipped to about 142 million euros and the average price fell to 3.42 euros a liter. In 2025, Spain imported 39 million liters for about 151 million euros, with an average of 3.87 euros a liter.

Against that backdrop, the 2026 jump stands out mostly because of Chile. Spanish imports grew by 25.45 million liters from the first half of 2025, and Chile alone accounted for 20.5 million of those extra liters. That means Chile was responsible for about 81% of the net increase in imported volume. Chile supplied around 37% of all the wine Spain imported in the period and shipped more wine than Italy and France combined. By value, its sales rose 387% to nearly 14 million euros, moving it up two places to third in the ranking.

France kept its lead by value, selling 93.6 million euros worth of wine to Spain, up 4.8%. That represented about 54.1% of the total value of Spain’s wine imports. By volume, France ranked third with 10.5 million liters, a rise of 49.3%. Italy placed second in both value and volume, with 22.3 million euros in sales, down 11.2%, and 10.8 million liters, down 0.1%.

Other suppliers ranked behind those three by value included Portugal with 8.3 million euros, Germany with 6.6 million euros, New Zealand with 3.7 million euros, Argentina with 3.2 million euros, Australia with 3 million euros and the United States with 2.5 million euros. The breakdown also included 5.6 million euros in imports listed as undetermined origin.

The ranking by volume looked different after the top three. The United States was fourth with 5.8 million liters, ahead of Portugal at 3 million liters, Germany at 2.6 million, Argentina at 2.5 million, New Zealand at 1.8 million, Australia at 1.4 million and South Africa at 800,000 liters. The U.S. position highlighted the price differences among suppliers, since several countries with lower volumes still generated higher sales in euros.

Bulk wine was the central factor in the market shift. Spain imported 44.36 million liters of bulk wine in the first half, up 147.6%, for 28.48 million euros, up 145.3%. Bulk wine made up 68.8% of the volume of all wine imports but only 16.5% of their value. OIVE linked the increase mainly to bulk shipments from Chile.

The average price of bulk wine was 0.64 euros a liter, down just 0.93%. That small price change helps explain why the average price for all imported wine fell 30.8%. The drop was not caused by a collapse in bulk prices. It came from the heavier weight of a category that is priced far below the overall average. Calculations based on the published figures show bulk imports increased by about 26.44 million liters from the first half of 2025, more than the total increase in all wine imports. That implies the rest of the wine categories combined declined by about 1 million liters, or roughly 4.7%.

Within bulk wine, the biggest value segment was wine without protected geographical indication and without a varietal indication, at 14.05 million euros, up 71.6%. Bulk wine with varietal indication followed closely at 13.06 million euros after a 371% increase. Bulk wine with protected geographical indication rose 308.4% to 1.29 million euros, while bulk wine with protected designation of origin fell 73.9% to 90,000 euros.

Even with bulk wine dominating growth in volume, sparkling wine remained the largest import category by value. Spain spent 69.52 million euros on sparkling wine in the first half, up 7.3%, equal to 40.2% of all wine import spending. Volume in that category fell 12.6% to 4.21 million liters, or 6.5% of total imported volume, which means unit prices rose.

Packaged still wines, counted separately from sparkling and other categories in OIVE’s classification, totaled 65.5 million euros, up 4%, and represented 37.9% of the value of imported wine. Their volume rose 7.7% to 12.61 million liters, while the average price slipped 3.42% to 5.19 euros a liter. Taken together, sparkling and packaged wines accounted for 78.1% of Spain’s spending on imported wine.

Within packaged wines, those with protected designation of origin were the largest line at 41.97 million euros, though that was down 4.2%. Packaged wines with protected geographical indication rose 1.6% to 6.56 million euros. The fastest growth came from packaged wines with varietal indication, up 31.1% to 9.95 million euros, and packaged wines without protected geographical indication or varietal indication, up 37.1% to 7.02 million euros.

Other wine categories posted declines by value. Semi-sparkling wine fell 25.9% to 5.99 million euros. Fortified wine dropped 6.7% to 2.63 million euros. Bag-in-box imports decreased 11.2% to 720,000 euros.

When aromatized wines, musts and vinegars are added, Spain’s total imports of wine-sector products reached 96.59 million liters in the first half, up 56.6%, worth 225.91 million euros, up 16.02%. The average price for that broader basket was 2.34 euros a liter, down 25.92%.

Aromatized wines moved differently from the wider trend. Their imports totaled 30 million euros, up 21.15%, on volume of 8.09 million liters, up 2.91%. The average price in that category rose 17.73% to 3.71 euros a liter, in contrast with the broad decline in the average price of imported wine caused by the surge in bulk purchases.

Wine accounted for 76.5% of the value and 66.8% of the volume of all Spanish imports of wine-sector products in the first half of 2026, according to the AEAT data analyzed by OIVE. Over the longer 2018-2026 period, the figures also show imported volumes growing faster than spending, a pattern that became especially visible this year as Spain bought much more wine while shifting heavily toward lower-priced bulk supplies.