Three Regions save Italian wine exports: the Centre-North drives the first quarter of 2024

The value of wine exported from Italy increased from January to March 2024 (despite a poor performance in the third month of the year). The over 1.8 billion euros for the quarter indicate a 3.9 percent growth over 2023, largely due to the contributions of certain regions. Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, and Tuscany performed particularly well in a difficult, complex, and fluctuating context, which also saw negative data from other major regions like Piedmont, Lombardy, Friuli Venezia Giulia, and Sicily. This indicates that the hoped-for recovery in 2024, after a challenging 2023 for the wine sector, is far from guaranteed.

Three key Regions in the Centre-North

Delving into the details, Veneto recorded 663 million euros in exports in three months, with a 5.7% increase over the corresponding quarter in 2023. Tuscany grew by 5.1%, and Emilia-Romagna increased by 10.8% to almost 111 million euros. According to Istat data, Trentino Alto Adige was also slightly positive, with 152.6 million euros in wine exports (+0.7%), as were Lazio (+1%), Abruzzo (+1.4%), and Sardinia (+2.4%). Notable for their percentage growth, though with very small specific weights (less than 1%), were Valle d'Aosta (+87%) and Molise (+43%).

Negative signs for Piedmont, Lombardy, and Sicily

Conversely, it was not a good period for other major regions significant for Italian wine exports. The case of Piedmont is exemplary: the second-largest exporter by value, thanks especially to Barolo, Gavi, Barbera, and Asti, saw almost a 2 percent decline in the first three months of 2024, losing its third place position to Tuscany. Also, Lombardy (-10.2%), Friuli Venezia Giulia (-4%), and Sicily (-6.8%) showed marked declines. Puglia remained stable (-0.2%), while Campania (-7.7%), Marche (-6.3%), Umbria (-14.6%), Liguria (-57.1%), and Calabria (-13.9%) all lost ground.