A healthy sector, with a high propensity to export and able to deal with the difficult economic situation. This is the picture of the wine and bottling machinery sector, an example of an Italian sector that is worth about 3.1 billion euros per year, including almost 70% in exports, and was the star at Fiera Milano for SIMEI, the international exhibition organised by the Unione italiana vini (Uiv) last week.

According to a survey carried out by the Uiv Wine Observatory on a homogeneous and representative panel of the sector, almost all companies detect an increase in the prices of raw materials, which stands at between 30-40% for iron, paper and electronic components and over 100% for energy. 84% also complain about a difficulty in finding raw materials, which mainly concerns electronic components (68%), but also paper and glass.

Despite the economic difficulties, this year the sector expects an overall growth of 9% in terms of turnover, with 8 out of 10 companies expecting to close in growth, with a progression that should exceed 20% for a third of respondents, compared to 8% of companies that expect substantial continuity with the previous year, and 14% who fear a contraction instead. Forecasts are also good with regard to sales abroad, which should increase for 59% of companies.

For Paolo Castelletti, Secretary General of the Unione italiana vini: "Technology applied to wine & beverage is one of the assets of Italian products. In 2021, the sector totalled more than 2 billion euros in exports, up 5.4% on the previous year and with a trade balance in surplus of 1.7 billion euros. World-class numbers in the sector that make it a recognised point of excellence, with Italian innovations and solutions present in 7 out of 10 wineries around the world". France, Eastern Europe and the Germany/Austria/Switzerland area are the first destinations for the machinery of the companies interviewed by the Uiv that, overall, see the value of 2022 exports up by 3% on last year’s result.