Italian wine exports are worsening, closing the four-month period with a 3.7% volume decline, while value also turned negative for the first time in 2025 (-0.9%, to €2.5 billion). As anticipated by the Italian Wine Union (UIV), the gap with the American market in April is weighing heavily, the first month with 10% tariffs (but from April 2 to 8 they were 20%). The market closed at a 7.5% volume decline and a 9.3% value decline compared to April of the previous year.

According to the UIV Observatory's ISTAT-based data (see EFA News ), in addition to the expected turnaround in the world's largest market, the overall performance of non-EU countries is worrying (-7.4% in volume and -1.7% in value), while the EU market has remained flat. According to the Observatory, with US tariffs, tensions in Russia, the progressive decline in Chinese demand, and declining purchasing power and consumption, the trend is set to worsen in the second half of the year, also due to the US stockpiling—which began in the last quarter—which has dampened performance in 2024. According to the UIV—which can also forecast May data—exports to the US slowed further (-3.4% in volume and -3% in value), while the overall performance of other non-EU buyers improved slightly.

"Given that," said Lamberto Frescobaldi , president of the Italian Wine Union, "the decline in consumption penalizes not only Italian wine but that of all the major producing countries, it is now essential to acknowledge how the demand landscape has changed, a cold shower after years of growth and the acceleration of shipments in recent months. For this reason, it is more urgent than ever to consider the facts for what they are and adapt—hopefully temporarily—to the new market conditions. In this regard, too, US tariffs require an acceleration. We must—and we are capable of—protect an asset that, with a surplus of €7.5 billion, has long been at the top of the Italian trade balance."

According to UIV Secretary General Paolo Castelletti , "To a less than thriving global market, we now have the unmanageable 30% US tariff. For wine, which is the most exposed sector among the top 30 product categories, with a US market share of 24% compared to the national average of 10.4%, the damage would be disastrous. Not only due to the loss of sales to the world's leading buyer, but also due to the indirect effects on the domestic and continental markets: unsold goods would cause saturation in traditional markets, with consequent price depression. "We need now," Castelletti concludes, "to close the deal in the best possible way and simultaneously work towards the future, from managing a production that is now anachronistic in terms of volumes to breaking down trade barriers in areas of the world with high growth potential."

Among buyer countries, the United States remained in positive territory in the first four months despite halving its growth in one month (+0.9% in volume and +6.7% in value, to €666 million), while export volumes declined in Germany (-3.3%) and the United Kingdom (-4.8%), respectively in second and third place. Switzerland and France followed, holding steady, with Canada posting strong growth along with the more limited growth of the Netherlands and Belgium. Finally, the double-digit declines in the East, with Japan and China once again, and Russia's collapse (-65%) are worrying. For the first time in years, sparkling wines also fell, with losses of 1.1% in volume and 1.5% in value, while bottled still/sparkling wines fell 5.6% in volume and 1% in value.