Crises and Competitiveness: Analysing the European Wine Trade Response to Economic Shocks

In recent years, the European wine industry has faced rising global competition, changing consumer preferences, and repeated economic crises. This paper explores the comparative advantages of the European Union’s (EU) wine-producing and consuming countries targeting international markets from 2010 to 2023, focusing on the specific impacts of economic crises on trade competitiveness. This research identifies the leading EU wine market players and their trade dynamics. Furthermore, it assesses their competitive positions in the world wine market using international wine trade data that assesses symmetric revealed comparative advantages (SRCA) for different wine products (sparkling, bottled, and bulk wines). Furthermore, it applies econometric models to capture the impacts of recent economic crises. Results suggest that traditional wine-exporting countries such as France, Italy, Spain, and Portugal were able to preserve their comparative advantage in the last decades despite declining consumption trends. Results show a stable comparative advantage in bottled wine categories despite the pressure of economic crises. Findings provide recommendations for policymakers and wine industry players to identify the dynamics behind the global wine trade pattern considering, different product segments.