In W39 in the wine landscape, according to the European Court of Auditors (ECP), the European Union (EU) laws regulating the wine industry do not align with environmental goals or increase competitiveness despite an annual EU budget of around USD 525.07 million. The ECP also criticizes the EU for not assessing the environmental impact of a 1% annual increase in vineyard area and for extending it for 15 years without justification. The conditional payments to agricultural producers, including grape growers, tied to environmental compliance were removed in the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Moreover, EU countries must only allocate a minimum of 5% of funds for wine sector actions related to climate change, environment, and sustainability, which the auditors consider inadequate.
In Russia, the Dagestan authorities will allocate USD 644.78 million in 2023 to support wine-grape farmers, a notable increase from USD 237.75 million in 2021 and USD 545.02 million in 2022. These funds will be used for vineyard planting, maintenance, equipment purchases, and upgrades. The region also aims to expand its vineyard area by more than 1,200 hectares (ha) in 2023, with the current total vineyard area in Dagestan standing at 26.6 thousand ha. Meanwhile, Russia's wine production is expected to remain at the previous year's level in 2023, with most of the wine sold domestically. The weather conditions were better than those in 2021.
In Aug-23, there were notable changes in Russian alcohol and beverage production, including a 12.5% year-on-year (YoY) decline in wine production to 280 thousand liters, a 15.4% YoY decrease in sparkling wines to 130 thousand liters, and a modest 2.6% YoY drop in beer production to 7.96 million liters. This is due to the strong exchange rate of the ruble, which, at the end of the previous year, enabled many retail chains to stock up on imported products for the coming year. With the exchange rate falling below 70 rubles per dollar, domestically produced goods have become less competitive than cheaper imports.
French wine consumption has declined from 100 liters per person in 1975 to an average of 40 liters per person in 2023, as per the National Committee of Interprofessions of Wines (CNIV) statistics. France produces around 45 million hectoliters of wine annually, with rosé wines making up 19% of the total production. Winemaker Thomas Montagne attributes the growing popularity of rosé in France to its ease of drinking, lower tannin content, and festive appeal.
Australian wine manufacturers are facing a massive surplus of wine equivalent to 859 Olympic-sized swimming pools due to China imposing high import tariffs in 2020. This led to a significant decline in Australian wine sales to China, which dropped from being worth USD 760 million to only USD 5.06 million in 2023.
Lastly, from Jan-23 to Jul-23, Bosnia and Herzegovina imported wine worth USD 11.47 million, while wine exports amounted to USD 2.87 million, maintaining the ongoing trend of significantly higher wine imports to exports. In 2022, the country imported a total of 8.48 million liters of wine valued at USD 5.08 million while exporting 3.16 million liters of wine valued at USD 4.10 million, as reported by the Bosnia and Herzegovina Indirect Tax Administration.