Industry representatives had recently expected a decline. Austrian winemakers exported six percent more wine, and export sales rose by two percent.

11.48 a.m., March 17, 2021

The local winemakers have surprisingly exported more wine in 2020 despite the corona crisis and long gastro lockdowns. Austria Wein Marketing (ÖWM) recently expected a decline. D.he export volume rose last year to 67.4 million liters (+6.3 percent), sales climbed to the new high of 187.3 million euros (+2.4 percent), as the ÖWM announced on Wednesday with reference to Statistics Austria data.

At the end of 2020, the ÖWM had expected a decline in the year as a whole to 62 million liters (-2.4 percent) and 175 million euros (-4.4 percent). The basis for the forecast at that time was the export figures up to September. In the fourth quarter, however, wine exports rose sharply.

“The export figures for 2020 are an unbelievable achievement by the Austrian wine industry,” said ÖWM managing director Chris Yorke in a broadcast. Despite the failure of all major wine fairs and events, as well as bars and shops that were closed for months, the “high appeal” of Austrian wine made it possible to increase exports worldwide. In addition to the main export market Germany, the Austrian winemakers also recorded higher sales volumes in the other core markets of Switzerland and the Netherlands. There was a decrease in the USA and USA, but a strong increase in Scandinavia and Canada.

There was a shift in the sales channels in the corona year. The greater increase in the export volume compared to the value suggests that less Austrian wine was sold in international gastronomy due to the pandemic restrictions, however more about online and offline trade channels such as food retailers and wine retailers, says ÖWM managing director Yorke. The average price fell slightly to 2.78 euros per liter (2019: 2.89 euros).

According to Wein Marketing, sales growth was driven by bottled wines (+9.9 percent), and quality red wines in particular sold well (+26.2 percent). In contrast, the export volume of bulk wine fell by 6 percent.