Australian wine exports show steep decline

Bad news all round for the struggling Australian wine industry.

Australian wine exports declined by 7% in value to $2.30 billion and 6% in volume to 598 million litres in the year ended June 2026, Wine Australia’s latest Export Report released today shows.

This is the first time that export volume has fallen below 600 million litres since 2004.

The decline mirrors a broader global trend of declining wine consumption over the past decade.

The total export figures reflect increasingly difficult trading conditions across many of Australia’s key export markets, driven by a historic downturn in global wine consumption.

Worldwide wine consumption has fallen to its lowest level since 1961, as consumers increasingly moderate alcohol intake, face cost-of-living pressures and shift towards alternative beverages.

Wine Australia manager for market insights Peter Bailey said the challenges facing Australian wine exporters were not unique, with other wine-producing nations facing the same conditions.

“Data from multiple sources suggests the decline in wine consumption globally is more than a short-term downturn - it's a reflection of changing consumer behaviour that is reshaping demand around the world.

"This reinforces the importance of understanding where demand exists and the products and occasions that are driving consumer decisions.

“While global trading conditions remain challenging, Australia wine continues to perform relatively well in many key markets where it generally maintained or grew its share of imported wine over the past year.”

The decline was driven primarily by weaker demand in Australia's three largest export markets: mainland China, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Mainland China remained Australia's largest export market by value, despite exports falling 15% to $756 million as the initial post-tariff recovery and restocking phase came to an end.

“While exports to mainland China declined over the past year, Australia remains the leading source of imported wine in the market,” Bailey said.

“The market is no longer being driven by the re-stocking of Australian wine, rather we’re seeing a more mature and demand-led phase, reflecting a smaller and slower-growing Chinese wine market than existed prior to the imposition of tariffs in late 2020.”

The United Kingdom remained Australia's largest market by volume and the United States second, although export volume to both markets fell to their lowest level in 25 years.

Canada was a standout performer, with export value increasing 20% to $188 million - its highest level in seven years - and volume rising 13%.

Czech mate as locals swear off the beer

Czechs drink more beer per capita than anyone else on the planet. 

That’s been the case for decades but now people in the Czech Republic are losing their taste for refreshing lager. 

Economic uncertainty and the rising cost of draught beer have affected consumer spending on beer, new data shows.

Novinky.cz says beer consumption in the Czech Republic is still the highest in the world despite its significant drop in recent years.

The average number of beers drunk per capita in 2023 was 256 beers per head, which is equal to approximately 128 litres.

Radio Prague International reported beer consumption reached a record high in 2005 when Czechs consumed 163.5 litres, or 327 beers per head.

Germany has also reported a downturn in beer consumption.

Is China's love affair with wine waning?

Is China starting to fall out of love with wine?

China’s dwindling wine consumption has been directly responsible for dragging down global wine consumption, the Organisation of International Wine and Vine (OIV) says.

The organisation estimates that China has been drinking less wine each year since 2018, with an annual loss of roughly 260 million bottles, Chinese website Vino Joy reports.

The latest State of the World Vine and Wine in 2022 report published by OIV, shows that since 2018, global wine consumption has decreased at a regular rate, which is mainly attributed to the decline in China’s consumption.

Which is not good news for Australian wine producers with surplus product waiting for Chinese tariffs to be lifted.

This downward trend was accentuated in 2020 by the Covid-19 pandemic, which brought a depressing effect on many large wine markets.

China’s restrictive Covid measures and repeated lockdowns further contracted the local market’s wine consumption.

The country’s 2022 wine consumption was down 16% drop on 2021, causing “a significant impact” on the fall in global consumption, says the OIV.

Australians can't get enough of avocados

Australians just can't get enough of avocados.

Whether it is smashed avocado on toast, guacamole, or seafood cocktail with avo, Australians are eating more avocado than ever before.

Avocados Australia says that in financial year 2021-22 Australians consumed 4.76kg of avocados per person - a significant increase on the previous year’s figure.

“It’s clear that consumers took advantage of the lower prices experienced this year and ate more avocado,” said John Tyas, CEO of Avocados Australia.

“Avocados aren’t like confectionery. If you eat a little more avocado, you don’t need to feel guilty as you are having more of something that’s healthy and nutritious.

“It is great news that Australians are eating more avocado as that means consumers are benefiting from avocado’s health-giving properties.

“Our facts at a glance figures are a great reference for our growers, or anyone wanting to see how our industry is performing.

“The domestic consumption increase is a welcome trend considering that production is also expected to increase.”

To view Avocados Australia’s FACTS AT A GLANCE key statistics online click here.

Would a smaller wine glass mean you drink less wine?

Would drinking wine out of a smaller glass reduce the amount that you drink?

A study conducted by researchers from the University of Cambridge has found that the use of smaller glasses leads to a modest decline in overall wine consumption, The Drinks Business reported.

The study looked at a total of 260 households in the UK that said they drank wine on a regular basis.

The households were randomly given 290ml or 350ml glasses of wine from which to drink during a four-week period.

The study’s researchers found that wine consumption declined by 6.5% when the wine was served in smaller glasses.

The researchers also looked at the effect of drinking from half bottles (37.5cl) rather than full-size bottles, with the households spending two weeks drinking from each bottle size.

Wine consumption fell by 3.6% when the 37.5cl bottles were used, a decline researchers considered to be negligible.

While the difference in smaller glass size (290ml rather than 350ml) was described as not “statistically significant”, researchers did note that using “290ml v 350ml glasses may reduce consumption”.

The results were published in the journal Addiction, which focuses on, you guessed it, the study of addiction.

Image: Ben Donath, Scop.io