Spanish wine-sector export volume falls to a decade low in first half of 2026

Exports lose 284.6 million liters

Spain exported €1.5609 billion and 1.1254 billion liters of wine-sector products between January and June 2026, according to Spanish Tax Agency data analyzed by the Spanish Wine Interprofessional Organization, OIVE. Compared with the first half of 2025, export value fell 10.2% and volume dropped 20.2%.

The country consequently shipped 284.6 million fewer liters and earned €176.5 million less than a year earlier. The much steeper contraction in volume than in revenue was the defining feature of the semester and lifted the apparent average value of the products sold abroad.

Vinetur reports that the 2026 volume was the lowest in OIVE’s 2017-2026 first-half series. It was 85 million liters, or about 7%, below the previous low of 1.210 billion liters recorded in 2020. Export revenue was the weakest since 2020 and the fourth-lowest result in the series.

Wine performs better than the wider sector

Exports of wine alone, excluding aromatized wine, grape must and vinegar, totaled €1.3264 billion and 840 million liters. Those figures represented declines of 8.2% in value and 15.8% in volume, less severe than the contraction across the broader wine-sector product group.

Grape must was a major source of weakness, with exports falling 25% by value and 36% by volume during the six months. Aromatized wine declined 7.4% in value and 10.5% in volume, while vinegar fell 5.5% and 7.1%, respectively. The available aggregate data do not identify individual destination markets, packaging formats or specific wine categories responsible for the change.

The deterioration had already begun in 2025. After reaching €1.798 billion and 1.459 billion liters in the first half of 2024, both value and volume declined 3.4% a year later. The adjustment intensified in 2026, particularly in physical shipments.

Higher value per liter cushions revenue

The apparent average export value reached about €1.39 per liter in the first half of 2026, the highest level in the series. That compared with approximately €1.23 per liter in 2025, an increase of close to 12.6%, and exceeded the previous high of roughly €1.30 recorded in 2023.

The longer-term comparison shows how Spain’s export mix has shifted toward greater value relative to volume. Against the first half of 2021, revenue in 2026 was only €27 million, or 1.7%, lower, although shipments were down by 413 million liters, or 26.9%. Compared with 2017, export value was around €78 million higher, while volume was 246 million liters lower.

For Spanish wineries, grape-must suppliers and exporters, the higher average value provides only a partial buffer. Revenue is holding up better than tonnage, but the loss of more than one-fifth of total volume in a year reduces throughput across production, storage and logistics. Without destination-level figures, it is not yet possible to determine whether the contraction reflects weaker demand in particular countries, changes in product mix or reduced availability.