After several years of decline, Portuguese wine exports to China saw a double-digit increase in the first quarter of 2024, according to wine association ViniPortugal.
China purchased Portuguese wine valued at around 2 million euros in the first three months of 2024, a more than 12 percent increase over the same period the previous year. A 2.1 percent decline in overall export volume was offset by a more than 2 percent growth in average price, driven by big gains in markets like the Netherlands where prices increased by nearly a third.
Wine exports in the first quarter brought in a total of 212 million euros, netting an average price of 2.85 euros per litre for the 74 million litres sold. Nearly a third of Portuguese wine export revenue came from three countries: France (24.8 million euros), the United States (23.7 million euros) and Brazil (18.3 million euros).
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Portugal’s winemaking tradition traces its roots back some 4,000 years, with influences from across Europe and the Middle East, as well as a wealth of indigenous grape varieties that stand out among the more generic international grapes.
The “full-blooded, fruit-filled wines” produced by these grapes, according to consumer cooperative the Wine Society, are Portugal’s “trump card” in the global market.
Frederico Falcão, president of ViniPortugal, also pointed to marketing strategies and the expansion of distribution channels in recent years as driving the continued resilience of Portuguese wine in an increasingly unstable market. “The role that Portuguese wine exports have played in increasing Portugal’s visibility and reputation as a reference producer is undeniable,” he said.
