With the end of the pandemic, the Portuguese are consuming more and more wine in restaurants, at the expense of large distribution. In the first three months of the year, the wine sector lost 6.7% in volume and 1.1% in value in distribution. The fact that the price per liter in this channel rose by 6.1% partly explains the trend. In terms of hospitality, and probably also driven by tourism, sales of national wines grew by 19% in volume and 22% in value. The price per liter has risen here by only 2.6%. The sum of the two channels increased the price by 10.1%, above the inflation rate of 8.4% in that period.
At stake is the sale of nearly 65 million liters of wine, in the first three months of the year, in line with the same period (+0.2%), for a total value of 264.4 million euros, an increase of 10 .3%. The average price per liter was 4.07 euros, compared to 3.70 in the first quarter of 2022, an increase of 10.1%. The difference between the two sales channels is abysmal: an average price of 6.92 euros in catering and 2.72 euros in distribution.
Data comes from Nielsen and shows that certified wines are worth 43.2% by volume and 64.5% by total value, with sales exceeding 28 million liters and €170.5 million. The average price of certified wines increased by 11% to 6.07 euros per litre, with consumers paying an average of 4.17 euros in supermarkets and 11.56 euros in restaurants.
In the case of non-certified wines, the so-called table wine, the average price is 2.55 euros per liter and grew by 10.2%, the result of an increase in the average price at distribution of 7.1%, where from 1.32 to 1.42 euros per litre, and a decrease of almost 1% in restaurants, from 4.51 euros to 4.47 euros.
It is not surprising that Alentejo is the clear leader in sales of certified wine on the national market, with a share of 35.9% in volume (more than 10 million liters) and 37.5% in value (almost 64 million euros ). Next in volume are Península de Setúbal (five million liters and a share of 18%), Minho (3.9 million liters and a share of 13.9%) and Douro (3.8 million, equivalent to 13.6% of the market). But in terms of value, the Douro is second, with sales of DOC and IG wines generating €37.3 million (21.9% share), followed by DOC Vinho Verde and IG Minho (€21.8 million). euros, corresponding to 12.8% of the market) and Península de Setúbal with 20.6 million euros and a market share of 12.1%.
In terms of average price, certified wines from the Algarve are the most expensive (13.04 euros per litre), followed by Douro (9.72 euros), Terras de Cister (9.40 euros) and Trás-os-Montes (7.17 euros ). Despite the prices of certified wines from Minho recording the second highest percentage increase on a national level (17.8%), the region has the fourth lowest price in the country (5.57 euros per liter), after the Tagus ( 3.81 euros), Península de Setúbal (4.07 euros) and Terras da Beira (4.99 euros). With a growth of 31.3%, which corresponds to 2.24 euros per liter more than in the same period last year, the certified wines of Terras de Cister recorded the largest percentage increase.
Significantly, whether for distribution or catering, the best-selling wine is the so-called table wine, i.e. the non-certified wine, which accounts for 51.6% of sales in supermarkets and hypermarkets and 64.6% in restoration. . In terms of packaging type, 50.5% of the 20.8 million liters sold in restaurants in the first three months of the year were bag-in-box wines [embalagem em formato de saco dentro de uma caixa]. Bottled wines, which represent 49.3% of wine sold in supermarkets and hypermarkets, do not exceed 35.9% in restaurants. The fact that the average price per liter of bottled wine in restaurants was €11.80 and bag-in-box prices only €4.15 will help explain the phenomenon. At distribution, the price per liter bottle was 4.18 euros and 1.41 euros per liter bag in a box.
Ilídia Pinto is a journalist for Dinheiro Vivo
Source: DN
