COMPETITIVENESS OF ITALIAN WINES ON THE NTERNATIONAL MARKET

Abstract

In the last few years the wine market has been affected by a deep structural transformation due to the entry in the world productive scenario of new competitors and for changing of the demand not only at geographical level but also for more and more orientation of consumers towards the quality wines. This transformation has involved even the Italian wine sector, that takes in the international wine scenario a significant importance, both in terms of supply and of the weight on the world wine export. The competitiveness analysis of Italian wine in the main partner countries, carried out through the application of the Vollrath index, show different scenario depending on the wine categories considered. In general results reveal an increasing competitiveness in some markets, such as Asiatic (especially for bottled wine and sparkling wine), East Europe (mainly for sparkling wine and cask wine) and North European countries (especially for cask wine), which do not have a viticulture tradition and where the acknowledgement of the health characteristics of wine and of the product as an expression of an Italian lifestyle are strategic factors for the success of Italian wine. Contextually, emerges a disadvantage in traditional markets (France) and in new producing markets (USA). In this context is necessary to consider the peculiarities of each market that differ in terms of dimension, culture, purchasing power, through the adoption of focused strategies.