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The EU Commission anticipates in a forecast for agriculture a further decline in wine consumption by 0.9 percent per year until 2035. Consumption is expected to drop from 21.2 liters per adult over 16 years to 19.3 liters. The paper cites changing consumption habits of younger generations and health concerns as reasons. A preference for higher-quality wines and other types of beverages is also leading to a decrease in consumption. Countries with traditionally high wine consumption, such as France and Germany, are more affected.
Overall, the demand for red wines is declining. In contrast, demand is increasing for lighter and fresher wine styles such as sparkling wines and white wines. Non-alcoholic and reduced-alcohol wines are also seeing sales growth. However, the total volumes for these products are considered low. With a share of two-thirds, the respective domestic markets are the most important sales channels for wines in the EU. Exports account for about 20 percent. Increasing consumption of domestic wines in the key export markets of the USA and the UK is likely to negatively impact production within the EU. This could decrease by 0.5 percent per year to 138 million hectoliters by 2035. Consequently, vineyard areas are also expected to decrease by up to 0.6 percent per year.
The demand for EU wines is rising in Latin America and some African countries. However, this is unlikely to offset the decline in the USA and the UK. Overall, it is expected that EU exports will decrease by 0.6 percent and imports by 1.9 percent per year by 2035.
(al; Image: Midjourney AI)
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