Overseas sales have dropped 86% since 2003
A LACK of policy and cheaper wines from other parts of the world are the main reasons for the decline of wine exports from Cyprus, it has emerged.
Based on statistics, in the three years from 2003 to 2006, wine exports from Cyprus have been reduce to just one seventh of what they were, while in the first quarter of 2007, there has been a 12 per cent reduction to the corresponding period last year.
“Up until recently it can be said that winemakers were barking up the wrong tree regarding their policies on exporting wine and there is definitely a great need to change all this and get Cypriot wine back on the market abroad,” Director of the Commerce Department Andreas Sophocleous told the Cyprus Mail.
According to Sophocleous, there is a lot of work to be done given that Cypriot wine was already at a disadvantage before it even found its way onto the shelves.
“We are under no illusions that we simply cannot challenge Australian, Chilean, South African or even Italian wines that are extremely cheap. We just cannot do that, so we need to find other ways to promote our wines,” he said. “In the last few years we can definitely see that there has been an improvement in the quality of Cypriot wines.”
In the past the Cypriot market thrived on the export of bulk wine, however after entry into the European Union and the recent mass production of wine in Europe, prices for bulk exports have fallen dramatically, making Cyprus uncompetitive.
Senior Officer of the Cyprus Wine Products Council Stavros Ioannides said yesterday that this problem was not unique only to Cyprus.
“Other European countries like Italy, France and to a smaller extent Spain are having the same problems which can be attributed to the mass increase of wines from third countries where production costs are much lower and it is not worth even trying to compete with their prices, especially regarding bulk imports,” he said.
Ioannides said that a solution to this problem was to try and make better use of varieties that were produced only on the island instead of the usual types.
“How many Cabernets or Chardonnays will you find? These varieties are produced in so many places and at lower prices. We need to take advantage of Cypriot types of wines that have their own distinct character that cannot be produced elsewhere.
“In some cases Cypriot wines have received international awards for their quality; also look at the case of Commandaria that is one of the most ancient wines in the world, it has so much potential to do well in foreign markets,” he added.
Sophocleous also outlined some of the major attempts that were being made by his Ministry to curb the decrease in the exporting of Cypriot wines.
“As the Commerce Ministry, we need to give motives to wine makers to take part in promotional events abroad. For example, very recently there was a Cypriot wine exhibition in London as well as Cypriot wines being present in wine tasting events in Moscow and Paris,” he added.
He also maintained that it was up to individual wine makers to promote their own products and increase their marketing value.
The purchase of foreign wines on the island have more than doubled in the last seven years, while according to statistics from the Cyprus Wine Products Council the annual wine consumption per capita has increased from 13.5 litres to more than 20 litres in the last decade.
While Sophocleous claimed to be encouraged from the response of the local market regarding Cypriot wine, saying that they had “received very good messages from the public in that Cypriots do not look down on local wines any more,” Constandinos Ioannou, Managing Director of Cypriot drinks giant KEO painted a much more pessimistic view on the situation at home.
“We are definitely not optimistic at all. We cannot compete with foreign wines based on price and the huge competition makes it impossible for us to do so. We are trying to improve the quality of Cypriot wines and decrease the costs of productions, but the problem is not only regarding exports, the Cypriot market is under attack,” he told the Cyprus Mail.
“Cypriot tend to have the wrong perceptions when it comes to this, they think foreign must be better and overlook local wines. We have seen wines that are preferred on supermarket shelves at ridiculously low prices but of very poor quality it must be said.”
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