Rising Costs, Supply Disruptions Top Wine Industry Worries

Rising costs and supply chain disruptions top the list of threats and challenges for the wine industry.  However, the degree to which the industry is affected has clearly increased, a new survey commissioned by ProWein finds. In addition, the economic slowdown threatens to reduce  wine sales.

The global economic upturn after Covid-19 already led to a greater demand for energy and rising energy prices in 2021. With the war in Ukraine and sudden collapse in energy supplies in 2022, prices in many parts of Europe have therefore often more than doubled compared to 2020. Due to their higher energy consumption, producers are significantly more affected by this than wine traders.

Almost all producers were affected by transportation problems and supply chain disruptions. Wine producers managed to successfully buffer a large part of the supply problems. As a result, the wine trade was significantly less affected. From the industry’s perspective, transportation and supply issues will continue to present a major challenge for their business.

The survey was conducted by Geisenheim University and included experts from the entire worldwide wine industry value chain.