MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/. Sales of wine from the Republic of South Africa and Latin American countries in Russia almost doubled in 2024 compared with the previous year, with their share in imports also increasing, market players told TASS.
Luding Group said that the share of wines from Chile and South Africa in the import volume increased to 13% in the first half of 2024, while in the first half of 2023 this share was 9%. Whereas the import volume in liters rose by 45% (by 24% from Chile and by 82% from South Africa).
Moreover, Chile surpassed France in the top five exporters of still wine in the reporting period, while South Africa was ranked sixth in terms of imports, which are still growing, outpacing Germany, Abkhazia, and France.
"Speaking about sales volumes, the picture is similar here. In 2024, Chile also overtook France, entering the top five most popular countries in terms of still wine sales. Sales of Chilean wines in 2024 rose by 9% compared with 2023. Sales of South African wines soared by 71%, which enabled them to surpass Germany and Abkhazia," the press service of Luding Group said.
Simple Group also noted an increase in the share of wines from South Africa, Chile, and Argentina, while the assortment of products from non-friendly countries decreased by less than 10%. Sales of such wines also fell, particularly from Italy, whose share in the portfolio had been historically large (47% in 2023 and 41% in 2024 in liters). Meanwhile, the decrease in the company is fully offset by growth in sales of domestically-produced wines (+32% in liters in a year). Sales of wines from Georgia are also on the rise - by 15% in liters. "Sales of wines from friendly countries demonstrate double-digit and triple-digit growth (a 91% rise in liters in a year from Chile and a 129% surge from South Africa). Duties are lower here, though prices for products from friendly countries also increase mainly due to logistics issues as the majority of friendly countries are rather far away, as well as a high key rate," Simple Group added.
That said, Luding Group noted that prices for wines from Chile and South Africa grew by 17% on average last year while prices for wines from non-friendly countries rose by more than 30% on average.