Brexit blamed for fall in prosecco sales

By Michelle Perrett

Published: 21 September, 2018

Exports to the UK of Prosecco have fallen for the first time in 10 years, Coldiretti has revealed.

The agricultural association blamed Brexit for the 7% drop in Italian Prosecco coming to the UK in the first half of the year.

Coldiretti said that more than a quarter of all exported bottles of prosecco consumed abroad are done so in Britain.

The tensions caused by the negotiations on Brexit, the trend in exchange rates but also some “nationalistic fake news” aimed at discrediting Italian bubbles seem to have had an effect on trade, it said. There had been reports in the UK press that prosecco could cause tooth decay and gum disease.

Coldiretti said it was concerned that the UK exit from the EU could see legislation that is unfavorable to Italian agri-food exports.

It said that with less than a year until Brexit an agreement has not yet been reached on the recognition and protection of food products with designations of origin. It is concerned that imitations could hit the market from Parmesan to fake Prosecco.

It also raised concern about the impact of the traffic light nutrition system used in many British supermarkets. It said it believed that 85% of Italian products could be rejected under this system.

It said the system is not based on the quantities actually consumed, but only on the “generic presence” of a certain type of substances which is said could lead to “misleading conclusions.”

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