The latest data on wine imports into Russia paints a complex and fluid picture. Eugene Gerden crunches the numbers. Russia reduced its wine imports from the European Union to a 20-year low, as only 126,000 tonnes have been imported since the beginning of the year, according to calculations by the Russian newswire RIA Novosti, based on Eurostat data. For the most recent reporting period, imports dropped by 25% year-on-year and became the lowest figure since 2004, when Russian companies imported only 87,000 tonnes of European wine. The main supplier of wine this year was Italy. Its share of Russian imports doubled, hitting 39% which equated to 49,000 tonnes. Last year, total imports of Italian wine to Russia amounted to €158 million in value. At the same time, last year’s leaders, Lithuania and Latvia, saw sales that were 2.7 times and 4.3 times lower respectively. Over eight months, only 18,000 tonnes of wine from Lithuania and 14,000 tonnes from Latvia were imported to Russia. The top 5 EU suppliers of wine to the Russian market this year also include Poland, whose exports increased by a factor of 1.7, to 13,000 tonnes, as well as Portugal, whose sales jumped by a factor of 2.8, to 10,500 tonnes. Global players In general, wines from the EU region still account for the biggest share in the overall market of wine imports to Russia. Their share in 2023 amounted to 37%, compared to 31% in 2021 and 33% in 2022. The largest wine importer from
This Article was originally published on The Drink Business - Wine
