Australian wine exports plunge dramatically

Australian wine exports decreased by 24% in value to $2.27 billion and 17% in volume to 638 million litres in the year ended September 2021, Wine Australia’s latest Export Report released today reveals.

Since the imposition of import tariffs in November 2020, exports of Australian wine to mainland China have dropped dramatically.

The value of exports in the 12 months to September 2021 were down 77% to $274 million. The number of exporters shipping wine to mainland China has also dropped, from 2241 in the year ended September 2020 to 750 in the year ended September 2021.

Wine Australia General Manager Corporate Affairs and Regulation Rachel Triggs said the overall declines reflect the challenges that the Australian wine sector has faced over the past 12 months.

“The decline of exports that we’re seeing now was amplified by the fact that there was a large increase in exports in September and October 2020, driven by exporters shipping wine into mainland China ahead of tariffs being imposed, into the UK ahead of the Brexit transition conclusion, and a surge in demand for Australian wine in the UK and US during the Covid-19 pandemic,” Triggs said.

“This front-loading of exports led to the majority of 2020 vintage wines being shipped earlier than usual resulting in the lowest inventory levels in 10 years coming into the 2021 calendar year.”

Australian wine exports excluding mainland China actually increased by 9% in value to $1.99 billion but decreased by 5% in volume to 618 million litres.

Australian wine was exported to 113 markets in the year ended September 2021. Pleasingly, several destinations recorded strong value growth in wine exports, including the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Denmark, Thailand and Taiwan.

“Over the past 18 months, there has been a significant increase in exports to the UK, which has led to the market solidifying its place as Australia’s number one destination by volume and it has now overtaken mainland China as the No.1 destination by value,” Triggs said.

“Australian wine exporters are continuing to diversify their business models and ship to a broad range of markets. For example, in this report there was an increase in the number of exporters to the US; 269 exporters shipped wine to the market, which is the highest number of exporters since the Global Financial Crisis in 2009.”