A small decline recorded for the first time after eight years of growth

What was already beginning to show has been confirmed by figures from Statistics Austria: Austria’s wine exports fell slightly in 2024. As a result of the difficult market situation around the world, the export value fell 6% to €233.3 million and volume by 1.7% to 64.2 million litres. Over the long term, however, the trend still continues to be an upward one: since the last downturn in exports in 2015, Austria’s wine exports have increased by almost €90 million (+62.7%).

By the end of 2024, there were already indications that for the first time in a very long while, Austrian wine exports were going to be somewhat subdued (as Austrian Wine reported). Now we have the official figures from Statistics Austria. In total last year, Austria exported 64.2 million litres of wine with a value of €233.3 million. This represents a 1.7% fall in export volume compared to 2023, and a 6.0% fall in value.

Chris Yorke, CEO of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board (Austrian Wine) explains: “In 2023, our wine exports came within a hair’s breadth of reaching a quarter of a billion at €248 million. The main driver for this was exceptionally high exports of bottled wine to our main export market, Germany. Since a higher volume of cheaper wine in bulk was sold to Germany again last year, we soon realised that we were not going to be able to match the exceptionally high export value achieved in 2023. The global economic situation as a whole is just too volatile for that at the moment.

Less bottled wine exported

It was not just Germany that bought less bottled wine in 2024, but Austria exported less bottled wine in general. Records show a fall of 5.1% in volume and of 6.3% in value. Bottled red wines were particularly affected, with a reduction of 12.5% in volume and 14.4% in value. By contrast, the export of wine in bulk increased by 16.1%, but at a lower price, with the export value of bulk wine falling by 1.4%.

Decline in Germany and Switzerland but growth in the USA

As a result of the larger quantities of cheaper bulk wines sold, the value of exports to Germany fell by 13.6% to €98.8 million. However, this is still higher than the value in 2022 (€94.5 million). The volume exported in 2024 also fell slightly by 4.4%. Germany nevertheless remains the most important export market for Austria by a long way. 60.2% of all wine exported goes to Germany, representing 42.3% of the total export value.

While Switzerland was still the second most important export market in 2023, painful losses were experienced here in 2024. The volume of exports fell by one-third (33.1%), and value by 18.2%. Switzerland imported less wine from abroad in 2024 in general, and the low demand for red wine in what has traditionally been a key market for red wine sales had a particularly severe impact on Austrian export figures.

Furthermore, in 2024, the USA ousted Switzerland from its second-place position, accounting for 8.5% of the total export value. After a drop in 2023, the volume of exports to the United States rose by 6.5% again last year, and the value by 6.2%. “The growth in the USA, the biggest importer of wine in the world, is obviously very pleasing, but at the same time, we will have to wait and see what kind of framework conditions the Trump administration brings in for trade with the wine industry in Europe,” Yorke says cautiously.

Increases in Canada, the Czech Republic and the Nordic monopolies

As in previous years, there were also positive developments in Canada and the Nordic monopoly markets (Norway, Sweden and Finland). The volume of exports to Canada rose by 15.1%, and value by 12.1%. This moves Canada further up the list of key export markets. The Nordic monopoly markets saw increases of 1.9% in both the volume and value of exports, continuing the pattern of sustainable growth that has been characteristic for many years now.

However, it was in the Czech Republic that particularly high increases were experienced in 2024. A jump of 80.1% in export volume and of 58.1% in export value catapulted our neighbours up the rankings of Austria’s key export markets to land just behind Denmark.

Difficult market conditions and a small harvest in 2024 keep forecasts low

On future developments in exports, which are vitally important for the Austrian wine industry, Yorke explains: “All wine-producing countries are facing major challenges at the moment: costs that have risen sharply, reduced purchasing propensity and changes in consumers’ drinking habits around the world, to name just a few. On top of that, the economic situation worldwide is extremely volatile at the moment, making it difficult to come up with long-term sales strategies. That is why, when it comes to exports, it is more important than ever that we, as the Austrian Wine Marketing Board, come up with targeted measures to achieve the best possible impact in each particular market. This can mean participating in trade fairs or campaigns tailored specifically to the hospitality industry or to consumers.”

However, a rapid uptick in wine exports is not expected. In 2024, Austria’s winemakers had to come to terms with the smallest harvest for 14 years, which is not a good sign for exports in 2025, Yorke explains: “We last saw a fall in the export value in 2015. And what caused that? The low harvest in 2014. However, if we look back over our history, we can clearly see that Austrian wine is a long-term success story. The export value has risen by an impressive €90 million since 2015 – more than 60%. We at Austrian Wine will be working as hard as we can to make sure that this success story continues.”