Data about Portugal wine industry shows that the country has been able to maintain its sales of wine to the foreign market at the level of 33 million boxes of 9 liters per year. It is the equivalent of 400 millions of 750ml bottles exported. In 2017, there were 33.25 million boxes (always 9 liters); in 2018, 33.07 million boxes and, last year, 33.08 million boxes.
In this period, the value of exports of Portuguese whites and reds grew from 778.6 million Euros in 2017 to 821.6 million last year, in FOB values. And the importance of sales to Brazil has increased significantly.
Until 2016, Brazil occupied the ninth position among the markets that most imported wines from Portugal. In 2017, it moved to the eighth position. The following year, it jumped to fourth place, a position it maintained in 2019, behind only France, the United States and the United Kingdom. Data compiled by Ideal Consulting.
In absolute terms, exports to Brazil went from 28.9 million Euros in 2016 to 55.0 million last year, at FOB price. In the first four months of 2020, Brazil is in sixth place in the ranking, with 14.3 million Euros FOB. But the position cannot be seen as a downfall. Traditionally, Brazilian purchases are concentrated in the second half of the year (in 2019, Brazil was also in sixth place in the first four months, rising to fourth place in the consolidated for the year). Important: even in sixth place, sales to Brazil are 6% higher in Euros in the first four months of 2020 compared to the same period last year.
Brazil has been taking steps against Angola, a Portuguese-speaking country that has always been important in the commercial balance of wine in Portugal. Until 2015, the African country occupied the third place among the biggest buyers of Portuguese wines. It was second only to France and the United Kingdom, which traditionally lead this ranking. In 2018, when Brazil moved to fourth place, Angola fell to ninth position, the same place occupied last year.
Regarding the styles of wine exported by Portugal in these first four months of the year, the table wines and sparkling wines are on the rise. In wines, the increase was 3.3% in volume and 6.1% in value in sales to the foreign market. While sparkling wines grew 17.9% in volume and 27.1% in value. The downward trend is in the category of fortified and liqueur. Port wine sales fell 9.3% in volume and 8.9% in value in this period compared to January to April 2019. In liqueurs, the reduction was only in value, 7.5%, with an increase 8.2% in the exported volume.
In the analysis of the most imported wines into the Brazilian market, Alentejo labels are the most sought after. In these first six months of 2020, 227,000 9 liters of Alentejo wines, including whites, reds and rosés entered Brazil, which represents almost 24% of the total volume purchased by Brazilians. Next are the fresh and light green wines, with 23.7% of the labels; and, thirdly, Lisbon wines, with 16.6%. The Douro (with 9.4% of the market) and Porto (4.5%) labels occupy, respectively, the fourth and fifth positions in this ranking.
In 2020, the estimate is that this Brazilian importance will remain or even grow for the Portuguese. Even with the pandemic, Portugal continued to invest in the national market and ViniPortugal, an entity that represents the country’s producers, is preparing a great promotional action for its wines in Brazilian supermarkets. Launched in partnership with Abras, the Brazilian Supermarket Association, the promotion aims to bring a large variety of Portuguese wines to end consumers.
Dated between October 23rd and November 1st, the action called Festival Vinhos de Portugal costed a total of 500,000 euros. The part of the resource, explains consultant Carlos Cabral, comes from the funds that the wine commissions in each Portuguese region traditionally invest to promote their wines in Brazil.
