By Andy Young

Spain has become the world\'s biggest exporter of wine, after shipping out 22.8 million hectolitres in 2014, a 22.3 per cent rise on 2013.

But while the country\'s exports have risen, because much of its exports were bulk sales with small margins, profits for Spain\'s wine industry fell by 2.2 per cent.

France were the largest importers of Spanish wine, followed by Germany, Portugal and Russia.

Spain\'s exporting of cheaper wines is particularly highlighted in figures from the United States. The Spanish Observatory of the Wine Market, recently reported that while US$64 out of every $1,000 spent on wine in the US went on Spanish wine, $316 went on Italian and $282 on French.

Earlier this year TheShout reported that exports in Australian wine grew by 1.9 per cent in both volume and value in 2014.

Demand for Australia\'s premium wine offerings has driven growth in North America, Europe and much of Asia.

Source | The Shout.