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%.

Australian wines losing their global appeal

More bad news for the Australian wine industry today with news that exports declined by 2% in value to $1.90 billion and 3% in volume to 607 million litres in the 12 months to December 2023.

The Wine Australia Export Report released today said that although these figures are an improvement on than those reported in the September 2023 Export Report, the results are still well below long-term averages.

Particularly disturbing will be major falls in sales in the US, a declining market for Australian wines.

Wine Australia manager for market insights, Peter Bailey said that Europe and North America drove the reduction in Australia’s export value over the year, declining by 7% and 12% respectively.

“In Europe, exports to the top 15 markets declined in value as the region suffers through higher inflation rates than North America and Asia, as well as supply chain issues," he said.

"This includes the United Kingdom, Australia’s largest export market by volume. Pleasingly, Australia’s exports to the UK grew in volume for the first time since mid-2021.

“Both the United States and Canada contributed to North America’s decline in value. In 2023, packaged shipments to these markets continued their decline and unpackaged shipments, which were growing strongly, have started to ease off.

“The decline in exports to Europe and North America has resulted in their share of export value dropping to 29 and 27% respectively. Meanwhile, Asia’s share of export value has grown to 37%.

“Hong Kong and Singapore were stand out destinations for Australian wine in Asia, driving the growth of value to the region. Further, the number of exporters to Hong Kong also grew – up 138 export businesses to a total of 531 in 2023. Hong Kong and Singapore are key trading hubs in the Asian region and, as such, some of the wine is on-shipped to other markets.”

The decline in Australia’s exports comes at a time when most wine producing countries are reporting decreasing sales, Wine Australia says.

The global alcohol market is softening and impacting the entire wine category, especially in mature markets. This trend has been attributed to a combination of global economic tightening resulting in less discretionary spending and consumers being more conscious of their health.

Woops! Australian wine exports dip dramatically

It is not the news the Australian wine industry was hoping to hear.

Australian wine exports declined by 10% by volume to 625 million litres and 19% in value to $2.08 billion in the year ended June 30, 2022, Wine Australia’s latest Export Report reveals.

The decline in volume and value was not unexpected, as it was largely the result of the continued impact of the significant reduction in exports to mainland China, driven by high deposit tariffs imposed in November 2020.

This is expected to remain a significant influence on the moving annual total data of Australian wine exports until late 2022.

During the 2021–22 financial year, the operating environment for many Australian wine exporters had been extremely challenging with the significant decline in exports to mainland China, the ongoing impact of the pandemic - including severe shipping delays and increased freight costs - along with rising inflation, business costs and interest rates.

Wine Australia Manager, Market Insights, Peter Bailey said that while the total data showed declines, there were some encouraging signs in key and emerging markets.

“When mainland China is excluded from the data, exports increased by 5% in value to $2.06 billion, an increase of $105 million - the highest value since 2009–2010," he said. "This is despite volume declining by 3% to 619 million litres.

"The value growth for these markets was driven by a 9% increase in average value to $3.32 FOB per litre.

“The key contributors to the value growth included Singapore, the United States, Malaysia, Thailand, India and New Zealand.

In 2021–22, Australian wine exporters shipped wine to 113 destination markets. At a region-level, the most significant growth came from exports to south-east Asia, up 51% to $314 million, but also to North America, up 5% to $612 million, and the Middle East, up 48% to $20 million.

The top five markets by value were the US, UK, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Global challenges impact Australian wine exports

Australian wine exports decreased significantly by 30% in value to $2.03 billion and 17% in volume to 619 million litres in the year ended December 2021, Wine Australia’s latest Export Report shows.

The export figures are reflective of the unprecedentedly tough market conditions over the past 12 months as a result of deposit tariffs imposed on bottled Australian wine imported to mainland China, the continuing impact of the global freight crisis, and a counter-swing in some markets after Covid-19 related stockpiling in 2020.

The biggest driver of the decline in Australian wine exports in the 12 months to the end of December 2021 was the reduction in exports to mainland China. 

Exports to mainland China declined by 97% to $29 million and by 93% in volume to 6.4 million litres, a loss of nearly $1 billion in value when compared to the 2020 calendar year where shipments were free from tariffs for most of the year.

Wine Australia general manager for corporate affairs and regulation Rachel Triggs said the Australian wine export community was managing its way through exceptionally challenging times, which is evident in the Export Report.

“The 2021 calendar year represents the first full 12-month period since very high deposit tariffs on Australian wine imported to China were imposed, and the global impact of the challenging operating environment can now be observed in full," Triggs said. 

"Because the export figures are compared to the prior 12-months, we’ll keep seeing significant differences in the year-to-date export figures as a result of the deposit tariffs until the end of 2022. 

“Exports excluding mainland China increased by 7% in value to $2 billion and decreased by 6% in volume to 613 million litres. This is the first time that exports excluding mainland China have reached $2 billion for a calendar year since 2009.” 

The markets with the largest increase in value of Australian wine exports were Singapore (up 108% to $166 million), Hong Kong (up 45% to $191 million), South Korea (up 74% to $47 million), Taiwan (up 65% to $31 million) and Thailand (up 31% to $28 million).