German Wine Exports Down

Between June 1998 and May 1999, German wine-growers and the German wine trade sold more than 2.1m hectolitres of wine, worth DEM 673m, in export markets. These figures mean that more than one fifth of wine produced in Germany is currently drunk abroad. Compared with the period June 1997 to May 1998, this represents a decline in both the quantity (-3.6%) and the value of wine exports (-3.7%), even though wine consumption is increasing in the most important markets for German wines. Wine from Germany currently occupies a niche market in the global wine market and according to various studies and market research, growth potential is regarded as slight.