(France24) - There was good and bad news for France’s wine industry this week as it emerged the country is set to overtake Italy to become the world’s largest wine producer, although a fall in demand from China has seen exports plummet.

Italy was hit by unusually wet and cold weather this summer with a devastating effect on its wine harvest, farmer’s organisation Coldiretti said Tuesday. As a result, production is set to fall to 41 million hectolitres, down 15 percent on last year and the smallest yield the country has seen since 1950.

In contrast, France’s wine production is forecast to hit 45 million hectolitres this year, according to its ministry of agriculture, up from around 42 million in 2013.

Though definitive figures for both countries will not be available until the respective harvests are completed at the end of October or in early November, if the forecasts are accurate France will overtake Italy to become the world’s largest producer of wine by volume.

In Italy, falls in output of up to 30 percent are expected in Sicily and Puglia, the regions hardest hit by bad weather and the consequent prevalence of a number of plant diseases which affect vine yields.

Total rainfall across the country in July was 73 percent higher than the monthly average, a trend that both significantly reduced tourist spending and diluted the wine-producing potential of grapes.

Wet weather at the hottest time of year is particularly bad for grape producers because it encourages various forms of fungal rot.

Italy's wine sector is a significant player in the country's struggling economy. Its 200,000 producers employ 1.25 million people and have a combined turnover of 9.5 billion euros, half of which is raised from exports.