India’s appetite for imported wines witnessed a massive surge, especially the ones coming from Spain. Wine imported during the April-October 2023 period amounted to a whopping $58 million compared to $1 million in entire 2022-23. The staggering 50x rise was seen in mostly red wine imports.
Spain is third-largest producer of wine in the world with an estimated volume of 30.7 million hectoliter (mhl). Spain wines are largely exported to Germany, United States and other parts of the world. France, one of the largest wine-producing countries, witnessed a influx of Spain wine imports, which was met with resistance by wine growers in France.
According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) data, Spain exported wine valued at $3.53 billion in 2021, making it the third largest exporter of wine in the world. During the same period, wine was the 12th most exported product in Spain.
Earlier, Australian wines led the import table in value terms. This dominance was expected to surge with the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA) which opened doors for winemakers. According to trade data, Australia exported wine worth $5.73 million to India in April-September 2023, and the number for 2022-23 stood at $10.37 million.
India’s wine import saw a rise of over 200 percent in April-September, 2023, compared to the full financial year 2022-23. In value terms, India’s wine imports were up from $34.47 million in 2022-23 to $74.11 million during the same period.
Many wine exporting countries are eyeing the India market as consumption of wine is on the rise. As per a Kotak report, the Indian wine industry is expected to see a 12.5 percent revenue CAGR in FY23-28. Ashwin Rodrigues, Secretary of WineGAI and Founder of Good Drop Wine Cellars is optimistic about the Indian wine market. However, he warned that inexpensive wine coming into the country is likely to hurt the potential market if first-time wine consumers end up with poor quality wines.
