There is much talk about the possible positive effects that trade agreements with the Mercosur area and those with India and Australia could have on the export of Italian wine, which is grappling with American tariffs and more generally with the decline in consumption. A successful example of this is there for all to see: the agreement with Canada (Ceta).
Since its entry into force in 2017, European wines have recorded an average annual growth of 5.1% in the Canadian market, compared to +1.4% for non-EU wines. This is the main data emerging from a study by the Centro Studi Fondosviluppo/Confcooperative presented at Vinitaly on the margins of the Walk Around Tasting, the B2B event organised by Confcooperative in collaboration with Ice Agenzia and under the patronage of Maeci, which involved 50 cooperative wineries and over 90 international buyers, according to which the agreement marked “a structural strengthening of European positioning in a market with high purchasing power and increasingly oriented towards quality”.
‘Ten years after the ratification of Ceta,’ emphasises Raffaele Drei, president of Confcooperative Fedagripesca, ‘the free trade agreement between the European Union and Canada is therefore confirmed as a decisive tool for the growth and competitive strengthening of Italian wine and the entire national agri-food sector, an agreement that has allowed us to consolidate the presence of Made in Italy and reduce the gap with our main competitors.
Ceta has contributed significantly to the expansion of European and Italian exports, particularly in high value-added and identity sectors. One of the most relevant elements, as is well known, concerns the strengthening of the protection of geographical indications: before Ceta, protection in the EU-Canada relationship was limited to wines and spirits, while with the agreement it has been extended to 171 agri-food denominations, 41 of which are from Italia, representing about 98% of the value of Italian PDO/PGI exports to Canada.
Other significant data for wine exports from Italia emerge from the study: the elimination of the 6.9% Canadian tariffs has contributed to an increase in beverage exports, driven by wine, which have reached the figure of more than 120 million euros on average per year in the post-Ceta period. The market share of Italian wines in Canada rose from 8.2% in 2013 to an estimated 10.7% in 2029. The international comparison confirms the solidity of the Italian dynamic: while France and Italia are strengthening their leadership, other exporters such as Australia and Chile are losing ground, confirming that the new trade set-up has rewarded the European offer in particular.
Dining and Cooking