Spanish Wine Industry Internationalization: Unpacking Trade Flows and Concentration Levels

Abstract

The Spanish wine industry has established itself as a significant player in the global market, ranking first in terms of wine exports by volume and third in terms of export value, trailing only France and Italy. The presence of Spanish wine in key international markets not only contributes to the maintenance of Spain's brand reputation, but also serves to enhance it on a worldwide scale. Through a comprehensive descriptive analysis utilizing secondary sources of information, this study seeks to examine the patterns of wine trade flows and the level of concentration within these flows to elucidate the level of equality or inequality among Spanish wine exporters. The findings reveal that over the past decade, Spain has consistently maintained a surplus in the wine trade balance exceeding 2,000 million euros per year, with more than 80% of wineries engaging in regular export activities, largely dominated by a small number of large wineries.