Las exportaciones españolas de vino, 1986-2012: dinámicas gravitacionales

Spanish wine exports have experienced a great boom since Spain became a member of the EEC in 1986. The process was further stimulated by the 1994 Uruguay Round of GATT agreements, along with successive reforms of the CAP and the Common Market Organizations for wine in 1987, 1999 and 2008. In this symbiotic framework of integration and globalisation, Spanish wine destinations have changed dramatically in structure and characteristics. The logic of focussing exports on intra-EU markets has now combined with shifts toward other emerging destination countries. In this article we analyse the factors influencing changes in the gravity dynamics of Spanish wine exports and the importance of each variable. Destination markets have been grouped into five large categories that together represent 84% of total exports, and differences between wines with and without a protected designation of origin [denominación de origen protegida or DOP] have been analysed. The results indicate that Spain has experienced shifts in export gravity and developed as a price-competitive country, becoming an export leader in non-DOP wine. Simultaneously, Spanish wine has firmly established itself in traditional markets, has a higher average export price and has expanded its commercial dynamics to emerging markets outside the EU.