Exports of Portuguese wine seem unaffected by the pandemic as last year sales increased by 3.3% to €846 million. According to numbers from the national statistics institute (INE), sales to the United Kingdom were up 26.9%, 26.5% in Brazil, and 13.5% in the US in terms of volume.
Portuguese wine exports grew 5.3% in volume last year, and 3.2% in value, driven by sales to Brazil according to the INE and cited by the government.
“Exports of Portuguese wines had a very positive performance last year, registering a significant increase when compared to 2019. Thus, and according to data from the INE for 2020, there was an increase not only in volume (5.3%), but also in value (3.2%), with a result of €847 million — €26 million more on the previous year,” said the Minister of Agriculture in a statement.
The markets that contributed most to these results were Brazil, France, USA, United Kingdom and Canada.
From January to December, exports to Brazil grew about 26.5% in volume and 23.5% in value, totalling €68 million.
Those destined for the US increased 13.5% in volume and 3.1% in value to €90 million. In Canada, there was an increase of 6% in volume and 4.9% in value to €50 million. The best average price was also recorded in Canada – around €3.64 per litre.
Portuguese wine exports to the United Kingdom increased by 26.9% in volume and 16.3% in value to €90 million.
Portuguese wine exports to France totalled €110.5 million, followed by Germany (€47.5 million) and the Netherlands (€47 million). However, in France, there was a decrease of 2% in terms of volume.
The Minister of Agriculture argued that these results reflect “the good performance of the sector, its capacity for resilience and adaptation, but also the measures that, at all times, the government presented in 2020” to minimise the impact of the Covid-10 pandemic.
