World wine output is on course to hit another 60-year low in 2024. Photo:
World wine output is on course to hit another 60-year low in 2024 as vineyards in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres endured adverse weather as they did last year, the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) said on Friday.
In its first global projections for 2024, the OIV pegged world wine output, excluding juices and musts, at between 227 million and 235 million hectolitres (mhl), with a mid-range estimate of 231 mhl.
The mid-range figure was 2 percent lower than last year's output and the smallest since 1961, the OIV said. A hectolitre is the equivalent of 133 standard wine bottles.
"Globally, 2024 appears to be a re-run of 2023," the OIV said in a note.
"As with 2023, extreme or atypical meteorological events are the key influence on global production, with early frosts, heavy rainfall, and prolonged drought dramatically impacting vineyard productivity."
In the European Union, home to the world's three largest wine-producing countries - France, Italy and Spain - output was estimated at 139 mhl, down 3 percent from last year and the lowest level this century, according to the OIV.
France led the decline in the EU, with its production expected to fall by around a quarter, after weather setbacks ranging from torrential rain, limited sunshine and hail.
An expected recovery in Italy from last year's weak level should let the country reclaim the position of biggest wine producer from France, the OIV said.
In the United States, the world's fourth-largest producer, 2024 output was forecast to be down 3 percent from last year, though marginally above the five-year average, the body said.
In the Southern Hemisphere, overall output was estimated down 2 percent year on year at 46 mhl and the lowest in two decades, with declines in Australia, China and South Africa offsetting a rebound in Argentina, the OIV said.
The declining production trend globally underscored the sector's vulnerability to climate change, though in the short-term the reduced supply may help balance a market faced with decreasing consumption and high inventories, it added.
- Reuters