Small Wine-Importing Countries: Dynamic and Competitive Performance of Suppliers

The international wine trade has grown substantially in volume and value and the role of participants as exporters and importers has changed. Recent years have seen a substantial increase in the import share of the group of small importing countries, many of which were previously distanced from the wine trade. This paper looks at the changes in the international wine trade in the period 2004-2010 from the perspective of imports and aims not only to analyse the import dynamic of emerging wine markets (small traditional and non-traditional importing countries) but also to assess the relative position of different suppliers in order to shed light on competitors that are taking advantage of the growth of such markets. Drawing on data from the Global Trade Information Services (GTI), our analysis considers imports both in value (€) and in volume of wine as a whole, and with reference to three specific categories: bottled wine, bulk wine and sparkling wine.