The European Committee of Wine Companies (Comité Vins – CEEV) has presented the ‘impressive and clearly positive’ impact of the socio-economic and environmental contribution of the wine sector, following an exclusive study carried out by PwC for the body.
The report, presented in the European Parliament, aimed to quantify the contribution of the wine sector to the EU in rural areas, including each stage of the value chain, the impact on research and development, society and the environment.
It discovered the sector in the EU leads the international wine market, representing 62% of global wine production and trade, with exports worth €17.9 billion in 2022 and a positive trade balance of €15.9 billion, wine played a crucial role in reducing the EU trade deficit by 3.7%.
The study also reported that vineyards are 37% more profitable than other permanent crops, and the overall wine sector represents 1.4% of total EU employment. The jobs have “exceptional productivity”, it said and generate greater value added per employee compared to similar activities at each stage of the value chain, +90% in agriculture, +16% in manufacturing and +5% in commercialisation.
The total fiscal impact generated by the wine sector amounted to almost €52 billion in 2022, equivalent to 0.7% of the EU’s government expenditure. It was also an emerging tourist draw, and therefore a key economic catalyst for many rural regions, generating almost €15 billion in revenue.
In terms of the environment, it revealed more than 3.2 million hectares of vineyards contribute to the sustainability of the EU environment through biodiversity, limiting soil erosion, improving water management and providing fire protection.
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