by Daniel López Roca
According to the Instituto Nacional de Vitivinicultura (INV), the volume of Argentinean wine exports rose by 15.3% during the 12 month period ending September 2006. In that month alone, Argentina exported U S$47.6 million ( 36.6m) worth of wine, making it the 5th largest producer and the 11th strongest exporter in the world. Taking only the first nine months of 2006 into account, the increase was even greater. In that period the export value rose by 20.42% compared to the previous year to a total of US$347.3 million ( 267m). During those same nine months, volume rose by 38.23% to 310,597 hectolitres. 70.3% of the export volume was red and 25.7% white wine. While bottled wine was shipped in descending order to the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Holland, Brazil, Mexico and Sweden, bulk wine left for Russia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy and Denmark. Argentina has the 8th highest per capita consumption in the world. According to Strategic concept 2020 , the country aims to be not only number 10 in market share worldwide by that date, but also plans to increase domestic consumption which has fallen dramatically over the past generation. By 2020 an annual turnover of US$2 billion is planned for wine. In 2005 it was only US$1.18.
