Croatian Wine Production & Exports: Some Answers (Part 2)

How much Croatian wine is currently being produced? And how much Croatian wine is currently being exported to the U.S.?

In a recent article, I posed these very questions but at that time, I had few answers to these questions, writing about what limited information I was able to uncover. As I noted, a significant issue was that Vina Croatia, a website of The Wine Association in Croatian Chamber of Economy, appeared to contain statistical information but the site wasn't operative. Thus, that data wasn't really available. I had to rely on a number of news articles which provided limited information.

Since then, I've received significant statistical date from Vanja Kaludjer, Senior Associate of Agriculture, Food Processing Industry & Forestry Sector at the Croatian Chamber of Economy. Previously, I noted that there had been a decrease in Croatian wine production from 2011-2017, with some general information on percentage decreases from 2015-2017. There was evidence though that production had increased in 2018. There were also indications that wine exports had been increasing in the last few years, though far outnumbered by wine imports into Croatia.

The new information I received allows me to give much more specific information on wine production, exports and imports, providing a much closer look into the Croatian wine industry. I have more answers to my previous questions, though some aspects are still lacking.

Let's begin our examination by looking at the Total Vineyard Area in Croatia. Back in 2011, the total vineyard area was about 32,000 hectares but was reduced to 26,000 by 2015, nearly a 20% decrease. The decrease continued for the next couple years, down to 23,000 in 2016 to 22,000 in 2017. Thus, the vineyard area had decreased by almost 1/3 in a period of 6 years. No information for 2018 was available, so I cannot say whether the decrease continued.

What are the reasons for this decline in acreage? Which vines and grapes were removed? Was the decline a way to increase the quality of the remaining vineyards? Will acreage increase in the near future? These are some of the questions that remain unanswered for now.

Moving on, let's next take a look at Grape Production, which also saw a major decrease since 2011, obviously due in large part to the significant decrease in total vineyard area. Back in 2011, grape production was 204,373 tons and it decreased in 2012 to 187,550 tons and then in 2013 down to 181,096. A larger decrease occurred in 2014, down to 134,941 but there was a small turnaround in 2015, an increase in production to 154,227 tons.

That increase was an aberration as 2016 saw a large decrease down to 123,651, followed by an additional decrease in 2017 to 116,307 tons. Fortunately, in 2018, there was a significant increase in grape production to 146,242 tons (though that is still about 25% less than the tonnage in 2011). Hopefully, the increase will continue in 2019 and the near future.

Wine Production has followed a similar pattern, starting in 2011 with 1,409,000 hectoliters (hl), approximately 15.6 million cases of wine. Production decreased in 2012 to 1,293,000 hl and in 2013 to 1,249,000 hl. There was a larger decrease in 2014, down to 842,000 hl, with a small boost in 2015, to 992,000 hl. The decreases returned in 2016, to 760,000 hl and then in 2017 to 726 hl. In 2018, there was a turnaround, an increase to 952,000 hl, approximately 10.5 million cases of wine, though that is still almost 1/3 less than it was in 2011.

How much Croatian wine is exported, and what are their top export markets?

Back in 2013, Croatia exported 30,185 hectoliters of wine (about 335,000 cases), worth $10,412,348 (Euro). In subsequent years, with one exception, the amount of exports increased. In 2014, exports rose to 36,597 hl of wine, worth $11,740,112 (Euro) and in 2015, there was an increase to 49,398 hl, worth $12,398,328 (Euro). The exception came in 2016, when exports dropped to 36,109 hl, worth $10,531,686 (Euro). This rebounded in 2017, rising to 51,664 hl, worth $13,101,145, and continuing in 2018 to rise to 56,664 hl (about 630,000 cases), worth $16,134,906.

Thus, in 2018, Croatia exported only about 6% of their wine production, a relative small amount though the amount has nearly doubled in recent years. Croatians drink most of the wine they produce. As I previously wrote, Croatians drink about 22 liters of wine per capita, making them the third largest consumer in the world.

From 2013-2018, the top two export markets for Croatia have remained the same, Bosnia/Herzegovina and Germany. Montenegro has moved back and forth between third and fourth place, while Serbia has moved from seventh place in 2013 to fourth in 2018. In 2018, the top five export markets were Bosnia/Herzegovina, Germany, Montenegro, Serbia, and the U.S. Back in 2013, the U.S. was in fourth place, though had dropped to seventh in 2016, finally rising to fifth place in 2017 and 2018.

We can further break down the export figures for the top five markets in 2018. Bosnia/Herzegovina imported 16,845 hl, worth $4,666,297 (Euro) while Germany imported 9,988 hl, worth $2,612,878 (Euro). Montenegro imported 2,498 hl, worth $1,314,781 (Euro) while Serbia imported 1,617 hl, worth $938,799 (Euro).

Finally, the U.S. imported 1,159 hl, worth $792,358 (Euro). This equates to only about 7244 cases, a tiny amount of wine, making it very much a niche wine in the U.S. That minor amount is a significant reason why many wine lovers in the U.S. may find difficulty in locating Croatian wines. The amount of Croatian wine imports to the U.S. has only increased a small amount in the last couple years. In 2016, 1,149 hl were imported while in 2017, 1,106 hl were imported. Hopefully, exports to the U.S. will increase in 2019, and the new Croatian Premium Wine Imports is making their contribution to turn that into a reality.

It's interesting to look at statistics on Wine Imports into Croatia, especially considering they are far greater than the amount of exports. for example, in 2018 the total amount of Imported Wine to Croatia was 241,243 hl, worth $30,477,299 (Euro). This is approximately four times as many hectoliters as exports, though only twice the value of exports.

The top three countries exporting wine to Croatia include Northern Macedonia (131,013 hl, $9.729,710 Euro), France (6,624 hl, $5,138,510 Euro) and Italy (17,778 hl, $4,785,089 Euro). The rest of the top ten countries include Germany, Bosnia/Herzegovina, Slovenia, Kosovo, Spain, Netherlands, and Hungary. The U.S. occupies 18th place, exporting only 71 hectoliters, worth $65,232 (Euro), which roughly equates to only 789 cases!. This is actually a increase from 2013, when the U.S. occupied 31st place, though its highest spot was 16th in 2017.

These are fascinating statistics, shining a light into the Croatian wine industry, and indicating areas which could be improved, such as a greater amount of exports to the U.S. What is still missing though is some context, an explanation for the statistics, the reasons for the decrease in acreage, grape and wine production. I previously speculated on possibilities but am continuing to follow up, and hope to have even more answers in the near future. So stay tuned...