The Alentejo Regional Wine Commission (CVRA) indicated that last year, 92.2 million litres of Alentejo wine were sold, equivalent to more than 123 million bottles.

This was “the best result achieved in the last five years”, highlighted the organisation, highlighting that the increase in sales of Alentejo wine was 8% compared to last year, which represents an additional 6.7 million liters.

According to CVRA, the quantity exported in 2024 decreased by 2.4%, with a reduction in European markets and growth in third countries, unlike the national market, which grew by 9.3% in the twelve months up to September 2024.

“These are good results in a context that, for wine, is not exactly positive, but they show that Alentejo, even in less good times, has the capacity to turn things around and regain its presence in the market,” the president of CVRA told Lusa.

Francisco Mateus alluded to the decrease in wine consumption on a global level, attributing this trend to issues related to the Covid-19 pandemic, rising inflation and decreasing purchasing power or the anti-alcohol movement.

“Last year was not even similar to what we had in 2019”, considered “a year within normality” for the sector, he stressed, highlighting that, in the years 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, the 90 million litres sold were not exceeded.

Noting that the 2024 results “show that in the fifth year, it was possible to reverse the sequence of less good numbers”, Francisco Mateus pointed out that these data are “a good sign” for the future of Alentejo wines.

Regarding the drop in exports, the president of CVRA admitted that, in this regard, “last year was not exceptional”, but pointed out as the “only positive fact” the maintenance of the average price of Alentejo wine in international markets.

“We sold less quantity, but we managed to maintain the average price and I think that is good”, he highlighted, adding that, according to statistical data, the average value of exported Alentejo wine is 3.58 euros per litre.