Exports of Australian wine to China (including Hong Kong and Macau) have increased by 51 per cent in the 12 months ended March 2018, a new Wine Australia report has found.

In a another year filled with exporting success for Australian wine, a new record for the average value of bottle wine exports was reached, averaging out at AUD $5.74 per litre.

Exports increased by 16 per cent in value to AUD $2.65 billion, the highest value in a decade.

Volume increased by 10 per cent to a near-record value of 844 million litres – the equivalent of 94 nine litre cases.

Wine Australia Chief Executive Officer, Andreas Clark, said the high quality of Australian wine plus historically low Northern Hemisphere harvests were driving demand for Australian win exported in bulk containers, leading to growth in both volume and total value of exported bulk wine.

“Every country in Australia’s top 10 bulk wine destinations recorded an increase in average value, especially Germany, the largest importer of wine in the world, where average values for bulk wine increased by 20 per cent from $0.87 to $1.05 per litre,” Clark said.

China-Australia free trade agreement boosting China exports

Clark said that wine exports to China have grown as wine tariffs dropped in January 2018, in line with the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement.

“Mainland China has now overtaken the USA to become Australia’s second largest export market by volume,” Clark said.

“Pleasingly there was very strong growth at all price points as imported wine becomes more approachable and is increasingly consumed by middle-class drinkers and seen as suitable for consumption at informal gatherings and while relaxing at home.”

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