06/13/08 Wine Consumption p. 5

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran. Yesterday we discussed some of the influences to increasing wine consumption in the United States. Today we will continue our series examining the world's "taste" for wine. For the past week we have been looking at how patterns of wine consumption have increased in the US over the past decade. Many aspects of the industry are seeing incredible growth. So that begs the question what companies are being hurt by the increased interest in wine. Well for one the beer companies are facing flat demand in the United States. As beer and wine are largely substitute products, an increase in the demand for one directly impacts the demand for the other. Aluminum can manufacturer Ball controls 31% of the US market for aluminum beverage cans, and 37% of its revenues come from these products. A shift to wine, which is packaged in glass bottles, undermines demand for Ball's core product. The most important factor that has influenced the levels of beer, wine and spirits consumption is the real GDP of the region or country. Which is probably one reason China has seen greater demand for wine as a beverage of choice in the growing wealthy population. France retained its position as the world's number one wine exporter. Together with Italy the two countries accounted for 36% of all the world's exports. Amongst the Old World producers, Spain and Italy showed export growth. Australia continues to grow its exports despite some very bad weather in the past. New Zealand also continues to increase exports by stunning percentages. Worldwide wine consumption is increasing in new places and dropping in some of the more traditional places but overall Europe still accounts for over fifty percent of the world wine consumption. And thanks for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.