Italy is predicted to regain its place because the world’s largest wine producer in 2024 as French vineyards suffer from hostile weather conditions, in keeping with agricultural authorities in each countries.
After a disastrous harvest in 2023, Italian production will get better by eight percent to 41 to 42 million hectoliters, the country’s principal agricultural association, Coldiretti, said on Wednesday.
The French Agriculture Ministry had estimated earlier this month that French production would fall by 18 percent to 39.3 million hectoliters. Coldiretti noted that this 12 months’s production in Italy continues to be well below the typical of recent years, as various parts of the country are battling either heavy rains or drought.
Since 2007, Italy has been the world’s largest producer yearly, in keeping with the International Organization of Vine and Wine (OIV), apart from 2011, 2014 and 2023, when it was overtaken by France.
According to Coldiretti, Italy is “divided in two”. The north is hit by “heavy rain and hail” in spring and early summer, while large parts of the south and Sicily are affected by drought.
Heat and lack of rainfall led to particularly early harvests in some parts of the country.
In France, the sharpest decline is predicted within the eastern Jura Mountains, where frost and mildew are expected to cause a 71 percent drop in crop yields.
In terms of volume, the largest decline will probably be within the West Charente region, where production will fall by 35 percent.
In the Loire Valley, production is predicted to fall by 30 percent, and within the Burgundy-Beaujolais region, which has been hit by heavy hail, by as much as 1 / 4.
