Wine, in its global dimension, is directly affected by geopolitical tensions. The war in Iran brings back into focus a structural fragility of the international market: its dependence on tourism flows and increasingly complex trade and logistics routes. This is highlighted by Sandro Bottega, wine entrepreneur and one of the leading figures of Prosecco on international markets, who raises the alarm about the impact of the conflict in the Middle East on duty‑free sales and on the entire supply chain.
Duty free and tourism: a sharply contracting market
One of the most immediate effects concerns the travel retail channel, historically strategic for Italian wine.
The collapse of international tourism and the halt of trade in the Middle Eastern area have led to a significant contraction in duty‑free sales, as Bottega points out:
“In this moment of widespread uncertainty, we cannot easily identify a single event as the main cause of the impact on our economies and the resulting outcomes. Certainly, the greatest difficulty comes from the war in Iran, which has blocked trade with the Middle East and the Persian Gulf countries, drastically reduced consumption due to the collapse of international tourism, and strongly affected the increase in transport costs and the exponential rise in delivery times. In the duty‑free shops of the areas affected by the war, overall sales have dropped by -50%, and this can even be considered not too negative, given that in April/May peaks of -85% were reached.”
Numbers that portray a situation of deep instability, with declines that directly affect one of the most dynamic segments of the market.
Global logistics: rising costs and longer timelines
Alongside the contraction in sales, the conflict has generated significant effects on international logistics.
Trade routes have become slower and more complex, with a direct impact on delivery times and export organization:
“Furthermore, shipping times across all of Asia have doubled, partly due to the circumnavigation of Africa, but above all because of the lack of available ships and the general confusion that has arisen.”
The picture shows how the wine supply chain is now strongly tied to a fragile global system, where geopolitical tensions translate into operational inefficiencies.
Transport and production costs: an increasingly fragile balance
One of the most critical elements concerns rising costs, which affect the entire supply chain.
Bottega stresses that the increase does not only involve logistics, but also raw materials and related services.
“Both freight transport costs and airline ticket prices have doubled,” the entrepreneur continues. “Regarding production costs, we at Bottega are among the lucky ones, because by using energy from alternative sources we have a lower impact than others. But this applies only to the wines, spirits and liqueurs we produce, while for glass, cardboard and other materials we are also subject to the surge in market prices.”
A balance that is increasingly difficult to maintain, especially in a context of slowing demand.
Sandro Bottega’s appeal to institutions
Alongside the international dimension, Bottega also draws attention to an internal issue within the Italian production system: competitiveness.
His statement includes a direct appeal to institutions:
“On the domestic front, I appeal to our institutions to at least eradicate undeclared work, the structural plague that has been penalizing competitiveness in our country for decades. Most tax revenues (Irpef above all) fall on employees and, consequently, on companies that follow the rules. Our institutions must therefore intervene quickly with strict controls, severely sanctioning companies that use undeclared workers and do not pay the required contributions. The digital technologies exist; now we just need the political will to act. Undeclared work is a plague not only for workers, but also for virtuous companies that suffer unfair competition from businesses that, for this very reason, offer lower prices, destabilizing the market.”
