During the first semester of 2010, wine exports to Brazil went up 37.7% in value. According to winery export management, despite poor political relations, Argentina is showing growth in value terms.
The fact that Brazilians are drinking more and more wine is evidenced by the total imports of bottled still wine into Brazil in the January-June period, which rose 33%, considering both value and volume. According to the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Argentinian wine exports to that country increased 37.7%, from USD 14.6 million in 2009 to USD 20.1 million in 2010. The increase in volume was 24.5%. As it happens in other Argentinian export markets, our country continues improving its average price, which is nowadays USD 3.03 per liter, versus USD 2.74 last year.
Lucas Lowi, Business Development Manager at Terrazas de los Andes and Cheval des Andes, mentioned that “there has been a trend in the last few years for the lower price segments not to grow as fast as they used to, while, on the contrary, we can notice an expansion of the Super Premium and Ultra Premium wine segments.”
For a winery that makes Premium wines “this trend toward growth in average price generates a good deal of confidence, as it shows that Brazilian consumers are willing to pay more money for Argentinian wines. When we analyze the figures of this year’s first semester, the trend is confirmed.”
This tendency is closely related to the fact that “Brazilian consumers are becoming more sophisticated and enjoy pairing their food with good wines. They look for greater complexity, always appreciating the fruit.”
Adao Morellatto, from International Consulting Brazil, recommended that Argentinian wineries keep “motivating, informing and guiding this new consumer so that, in the short term, there will be a critical mass of sustainable and more aware wine consumers.”
Like Lowi, Alejando Panighini, Norton`s Export Manager, highlighted that “it is good to see that, in the first semester of 2010, wines whose value is higher than USD FOB 26 grew steadily in the Brazilian market, and they now account for 60% of the Argentinian business in that country, changing the situation of previous years, when lower priced wines had a greater relative importance. Norton Malbec DOC and Perdriel are doing very well in their segments and, without a doubt, they will soon become reference brands for Brazilian consumers.”
Panighini said that “Norton is growing once again in Brazil, after a series of setbacks, due to a change of importer. It has not been a year yet since we started working with the new importer, that is why there is much more work to be done.”
The booming giant
According to a study conducted by the Spanish Embassy’s Economic and Commercial Office in Brasilia, the current size of the Brazilian import market is estimated at 165 million dollars per annum. Roughly 50% of that market is covered by imports from Argentina (duty-free) and Chile (duty-free in 2011), 48% comes from Europe (in the following order: France, Italy, Portugal and Spain), while the remaining 2% is sent from other southern countries (mainly Australia and South Africa).
Lucas Lowi explained that “we should not forget that Brazil is the leading economy in Latin America, with a population of about 190 million and high expectations for growth in the near future, which gives way to great optimism.”
“On the other hand – he continued – the per capita wine consumption is relatively low (approximately 2 liters), but there are many opportunities for growth. In this context, our strategy is clearly focused on those products with higher added value. This is a record year for our key product, Terrazas Reserva, and a very good year for our Terrazas icon wine, Afincado. Cheval des Andes is starting to become the luxury wine reference in South America. Our product Latitud 33 is also experiencing rapid growth.”
Finally, Virginia Zarategui, Santa Ana`s Regional Export Manager, explained that although exports from that winery have remained steady, Argentinian wines are currently competing with special offers of Chilean wines at low prices, and, at the same time, with the rapidly growing commercial activity of the Brazilian wine industry.
Written by Laura Saieg for Winesur.com
Translation: Inglés del Vino
Source: http://www.winesur.com/news/despite-difficulties-argentina-keeps-growing
