Wine drives the export of EU-made alcoholic beverages. In 2024, France leads in revenue, Italy follows in second place

Wine leads the export of alcoholic beverages from the European Union. In 2024, wine shipments (including fortified wines) accounted for €16.8 billion, representing 56.2 per cent of the total. These were followed by spirits and liqueurs (€8.9 billion) with a 29.7% share, beer (€3.4 billion) with 11.5%, the group of beverages including cider, perry and other fermented drinks (€0.5 billion) with a 1.7% share, and lastly vermouth and other flavoured wines (€0.3 billion). Compared to pre-pandemic figures, the data released by Eurostat on Monday 28 April shows a 10.9% increase, bringing the total value of EU-made alcoholic beverage exports to €29.8 billion.

Top exporter rankings

France remains by far the EU’s leading exporter of alcoholic beverages, accounting for €12.1 billion in turnover—41% of the European total. This consists mainly of wine, totalling €8.1 billion (66.7% of French exports), followed by spirits and liqueurs at €3.8 billion (31.8%). Next in line is Italy, in second place, with €6 billion in alcoholic beverage exports to non-EU markets, accounting for 20% of the EU total. Of Italy’s exports, 81.1% is wine, totalling €4.9 billion (noting that Italy’s total wine exports exceeded €8 billion in 2024). Spain and the Netherlands hold third and fourth places respectively, each representing 8% with €2.5 and €2.3 billion in exports. For Spain, this is mostly wine (€1.6 billion), while the Netherlands’ top export outside the EU is beer (€1.3 billion). In fifth and sixth positions are Germany (€1.6 billion) and Ireland (€1.5 billion).

Dependence on the United States

The United States, which—pending institutional negotiations between Donald Trump and Ursula von der Leyen—currently applies an additional 10% duty on European beverages, accounts for 30% of the EU’s alcoholic beverage export value, totalling €8.9 billion, with more than half (€4.9 billion) represented by wine. The United Kingdom is the second-largest destination for EU-made beverages, with €4.9 billion in 2024, equal to a 17% share, mostly wine (68%, or €3.3 billion). With €1.6 billion each, China and Canada are also key trade partners, alongside Switzerland (€1.4 billion). While China mainly imports spirits and liqueurs, Canada and Switzerland are primarily buyers of EU wine.