Global production of wine should fall to a minimum of 4 years, with problems in France and in Brazil

PARIS-global wine production is expected to fall this year to the lowest level since 2012, mainly due to adverse weather that reduced production in France and South America, including Brazil, said on Thursday the international organisation of vine and wine (OIV, the acronym).
The production of wine should fall into 5% before last year, to 259,500,000 hectoliters (mhl), one of the three smaller volumes since 2000, said the Paris-based entity in a preliminary estimate for the year.
The forecast fall of 12% in French production, to 41.9 mhl, and strong setbacks in Brazil (50% indentation, 1.4 mhl), in Chile ( -21 per 100, the 10.1 mhl) and in Argentina ( -35 per 100, the 8.8 mhl).
The South Africa must also impact the overall production, with loss of 19%, reaching 9.1 mhl.
A/represents 100 litres, or the equivalent of about 133 standard bottles (750 ml).
The fall in the production of France was widely expected, after the vines suffer with Frost and hail damage in the spring, followed by drought in the summer.
The retreat in France should allow Italy hold the position as the largest global producer of wine, with production of around 48.8 mhl, although slightly behind last year''s production, 50 mhl, said the OIV.
The production forecast of 259.5 mhl represents the midpoint of a range of estimates of 255 mhl to 264 mhl, the organization said.