Italian wine exports have grown by 7% in value and could reach €6 billion by the end of 2017 – a new historical record. The forecast comes from Italian farmers’ association Coldiretti, based on Istat data.

The overseas growth, in both value and volume, comes in spite of the recently completed harvest emerging as one of the earliest and poorest in the post-war period, resulting in a 26% drop in production, compared to last year. However, Italy will still remain a leading wine producer, with production of about 40 million hectolitres.