Evora, Portugal, Feb. 24, 2025 (Lusa) - Trade in Portugal's Alentejo region wines grew by 8% in 2024 compared to the previous year, with more than 92 million litres sold, while exports fell by 2.4%, the wine commission announced on Monday.
In a statement sent to the Lusa news agency, the Alentejo Regional Wine Commission (CVRA) said that 92.2 million litres of Alentejo wine were sold last year, equivalent to more than 123 million bottles.
This was "the best result achieved in the last five years", said the organisation, pointing out that the increase in sales of Alentejo wine was 8% compared to last year, which represents an increase of 6.7 million litres.
According to CVRA, the quantity exported in 2024 fell by 2.4%, with a reduction in European markets and growth in third countries, unlike the domestic market, which grew by 9.3% in the twelve months to September 2024.
"These are good results in a context that, for wine, is not exactly positive, but they show that the Alentejo, even in less good times, has the capacity to turn things around and recover its standing in the market," the president of the CVRA told Lusa.
Francisco Mateus alluded to the decline in wine consumption globally, attributing this trend to issues related to the Covid-19 pandemic, rising inflation and falling purchasing power or the anti-alcohol movement.
"Last year was not at all similar to what we had in 2019," which was considered "a normal year" for the sector, he stressed, pointing out that in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, the number of litres sold did not exceed 90 million.
Noting that the 2024 results "show that in the fifth year it has been possible to reverse the sequence of less good figures", Francisco Mateus pointed out that these figures are ‘a good sign’ for the future of Alentejo wines.
As for the drop in exports, the CVRA president said that, in this respect, "last year was not exceptional", but pointed to the "only positive fact" as being the maintenance of the average price of Alentejo wine on international markets.
"We sold less quantity, but we maintained the average price and I think that's a good thing," he stressed, adding that, according to statistical figures, the average price of Alentejo wine exported is €3.58 per litre.
According to the CVRA, sales of wine with the Controlled Designation of Origin (DOC) Alentejo grew by 11%, with 2.1 million litres, while Regional Alentejo saw an increase of 7%, with an increase of 4.6 million litres.
Red wine continued to lead sales with 66.8 million litres, an increase of 7.5%, but white and rosé had their best results ever.
In a statement, the CVRA said that the results achieved by white and rosé wines show "the evolution of the consumption profile and the favourable acceptance of these categories by consumers".
According to the organisation, white wines grew by 9.4% and rosés by 2.7% and together accounted for 27% of the volume of Alentejo wines sold.
Created in 1989, the CVRA is responsible for protecting and defending the DOC Alentejo and the Geographical Indication Alentejo, certifying and controlling origin and quality, and promoting and fostering sustainability.
The Alentejo is the national leader in certified wines, with around 40% of the total value of sales in a group of 14 wine-growing regions in Portugal.
With a vineyard area of 23,300 hectares, 30% of its production is exported to five main destinations, namely Brazil, Switzerland, the United States, the United Kingdom and Poland.
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