Growth in exports made it possible to offset the drop in the domestic market, still 19% below 2019.
The national market figures are not yet completely closed, but everything indicates that the sales record for wines from the Douro Demarcated Region will be “widely beaten” in 2021, reaching the threshold of 600 million euros. Numbers advanced to JN/Dinheiro Vivo by the president of the Douro and Port Wine Institute (IVDP), Gilberto Igrejas, who spoke of a "manifestly very positive" year and a "historic milestone" that attests to "the resilience of the people of the Douro and economic agents in international markets".
The major contribution to this performance comes from sales abroad, which grew by 9%, overall in the region, compared to 2019, totaling 403 million euros. Exports accounted for 67.2% of total sales of DOP Porto and Douro wines. Gilberto Igrejas speaks of a "truly remarkable" behavior of exports, which grew 8% in port wine and 12.8% in wines from Douro, compared to the pre-covid period.
On the contrary, the national market still has not fully recovered, at least with regard to Port wine, whose sales are estimated at around 52 million euros, 19% below 2019. tourism in the North during 2021. "The Portuguese definitely don't regularly drink port wine", says Gilberto Igrejas.
As for 2022, the IVDP is committed to strengthening the promotion and strategic pillars of its action in the region, with special emphasis on sustainability and technological innovation and administrative modernization.
Source: Newspaper
Link: https://www.jn.pt/economia/vinhos-do-porto-e-douro-com-vendas-recorde-de-600-milhoes-14497546.html