Italy's wine sector hit a record 7.1 billion euros (7.8 billion U.S. dollars) in exports last year, more than compensating for lower export totals in 2020 due to the worst period of the coronavirus pandemic, showed data released on Friday.

According to an analysis by the Qualivita Foundation of data from Italy's National Statistics Institute (ISTAT), Italian wine exports grew by 12.4 percent in 2021 compared to the previous year. This was compared to a 2.2-percent year-on-year decrease in 2020.

The Qualivita Foundation said that exports to North America grew by 16.7 percent, while those to Asia -- where China is the second leading export market for Italian wine -- surged by 22.5 percent between 2020 and 2021.

The United States remains the largest export market for Italian wines, followed by Germany and Britain. Meanwhile, China is a top-15 export destination for Italian wine.

However, the news of booming exports of Italian wine in 2021 was tempered by a report from consultancy Nomisma published on the same day, which predicts that in 2022 exports could suffer from the crisis in Ukraine.

Nomisma said that wine exports to Russia and Ukraine together account for annual sales of around 400 million euros, or around 6 percent of total exports.