Wine-producers and importers agree that Argentinian wine consumption in United States, mainly Malbec, is not a fad but a trend. Data supports it.
Argentinian exports to United States have grown strongly and Argentina has already become the fourth country in the ranking of bottled wines imported by the US market, exceeding Chile`s exports for the first time.
According to the data provided by the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) / United States Department of Agriculture, in 2010 Argentina`s bottle wine exports to US amounted to USD 102,281,000, while Chile amounted to USD 89,077,000. Argentina grew 23.1%, compared with exports during 2009, while Chile fell -6.1%.
The fact is that, since some time ago, growth in value of Chilean wine exports to US has been decelerated. Concerning the FAS data, Chile`s Compound Annual Rate Growth (CARG) 2003/2009 was 8.3%, while Argentina`s CARG in the same period was 28.6%. Concerning variation terms, Argentina grew 23.6% and Chile 9.8%, comparing 2008 with 2009. The market share in value in the period January-April 2009 was 7.4% for Chile and 6.6% for Argentina. Today, figures show that our country has improved its position with 7.3% market share, while Chile has only 6.4%.
Furthermore, the average USD price per liter is higher for Argentina than for Chile. According to the last data provided by FAS, the average price per liter is USD 4.12 for Argentina and USD 3.51 for Chile, which means an average price per 9-liter case around USD 37 for Argentina and USD 31 for Chile.
A passing fashion?
Even though it is true that Argentina`s great growth in the US market is promoted by Malbec`s strong growth, which concentrates 76% of the total bottled wine exports to that country, Argentina considers this growth a trend and not just a passing fashion.
TGIC Importers Inc is a company that has been in the US market for 25 years old and currently exports wines from 18 wineries from all over the world, including the Argentinian wineries Achaval Ferrer, Kaiken, Norton and Pascual Toso. Its CEO, Alex Guarachi, gave his opinion about Argentinian wines in the US market.
Guarachi points out that “Argentinian wines are being accepted in the US market place, according to the latest AC Nielsen report (dated 5.29.2010). Argentina category is the 4th best selling imported wine sold in the US market place. It is also the leader in dollar volume and in 9-liter case volume “growth” out of all other imported wines sold. There is always a quality vs. retail price relationship when buying wine; Argentinian wines have one of the highest positive value association with this relationship.”
According to the CEO at TGIC, “Argentinian wines are already successful in the US market compared to other imported wines sold in the US. The exciting position for Argentinian wines is the speed at which Argentinian wines in the US market place is growing. Argentinian wines have the largest growth position in dollar volume +65.5% vs. a year ago. Keep in mind these AC Nielsen reports are a 52-week snapshot, and what this information is relaying is this: not only are US consumers buying Argentinian wines for the first time, but there is a large portion of US consumers who are repeatedly purchasing Argentinian wines.”
When asked whether or not Malbec is a fad, Guarachi highlighted: “Malbec is not a fad, it is a reality. The Malbec varietal has been around for a long time, but recently the Argentinian winemakers got the finished product right for the US market.”
Argentinian wine-producers agree that US consumers have chosen Malbec not as a fad but a as a trend.
José Zuccardi, one of the great exporters to United States and Canada -where Argentina also exports more value than Chile- said that “Malbec is not a passing fashion; Malbec is a trend that is slowly developed in the market; unlike Pinot Noir that experienced a boom with the movie “Sideways”. Malbec grows on solid foundations. I think that Malbec`s achievement is very incipient and it has not peaked yet.”
According to Susana Balbo, vice-president of Wines of Argentina and owner of Dominio del Plata Winery, “Argentina`s price-quality ratio is unbeatable. Malbec is the entrance door, but Torrontés has also achieved an important growth and we have lots of varietals to offer.”
Furthermore, Karim Mussi (from AltoCedro), one of the international critics` favorite wine-producers, does not think that Malbec is just a passing fashion: “It has enough virtues to keep being one of consumers` choices. However, I think that its continuity does not depend on the varietal itself but on the wineries` management; consumers should always find value in the products they buy,” he added.
Written by Soledad Gonzalez for Winesur.com
Translation: Soledad Gonzalez & Ana Tagua
Source: http://www.winesur.com/top-news/argentina-grows-more-than-chile-in-united-states
