Rise in Value for German Wine Exports

According to the German Wine Institute (DWI), the average price paid to producers ex-cellar for a litre of exported wine rose by 20 cents to € 3.15 compared to the previous year. This is eleven cents above the previous maximum value of € 3.04 from 2018 and twice as high as 20 years ago. In the export markets, the wines are usually traded at significantly higher prices, depending on mark-ups due to taxes and distribution margins. With the higher proceeds, the total value of German wine exports rose by four per cent to € 370 million in 2022, although the export volume fell by three per cent to 1.17 million hectolitres.

"This development is also due to price adjustments that were needed against the background of the sharp rise in production costs. However, it is also in line with the industry's long-term goal of exporting more higher-quality wines from German wine regions in order to increase added value," explained DWI managing director Monika Reule.

Great demand for German wines in China

German wine exports to China were particularly successful last year. In the fifth most important wine export market, they reached a new record value selling 45,000 hectolitres at a very attractive price, in fact the highest average price to date, of €5.12 /l. Compared to 2021, this corresponds to a volume increase of 24 per cent, with a value increase of 22 per cent to €23 million. This ranks German wines in China in seventh place among the most important wine importing nations. "The younger consumers in China in particular are increasingly discovering German Riesling for themselves. It is also being recommended more and more often by young sommeliers there," remarked Reule describing the positive market development.

Record prices in top four export markets

German wine exporters were also able to achieve new record prices in four other important export markets in 2022. For wines destined for the two most important consumer countries, the USA and Norway, the average price was 50 and 56 cents per litre higher than in the previous year. German wines for the USA cost an average of €4.32 /l last year and €4.40 /l for Norway. However, the increased prices also resulted in a decline in wine exports of 13 per cent in both markets.

In the Netherlands, which ranks third in the wine export destinations, the price level for wine is significantly lower. But even there, after an increase of 16 cents, the average ex-cellar revenue per litre rose to a new record of €2.10 /litre.

The continuing trend towards sales of higher-quality German wines, especially in the British specialist wine trade, has led to the average wine price for Germany's No. 4 wine export market exceeding the three-euro mark for the first time at €3.06 /litre.

Switzerland moved back into the top 10 of the most important wine export countries last year after four years. The wine volumes exported to the southern neighbouring country rose by 51 per cent compared to the previous year and the export value by 23 per cent with a good average price of €4.74 /litre.

In 2022, 87 percent of German wines were exported in bottles. For quality wines or wines with a protected designation of origin (PDO), the share of bottled wines was even higher at 93 percent. The share of exports in larger containers is increasing for country wines or wines with a protected geographical indication (PGI) and products in the "German wine" category. A share of 19 percent was exported in bag-in-box packaging and eleven percent as bulk wine.

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