Australian wine exports buoyed by ending of Chinese tariffs
Australian wine exports showed an impressive 34% increase in value to $2.5bn (AUD) with volume up to 649m litres for 2024, according to Wine Australia’s export report.
The substantial rise in exports is in large part due to the ending of Chinese tariffs on Australian bottled wine at the end of March, and a subsequent surge in exports from April to December 2024. In this nine-month period $902m worth of Aussie wine was exported to mainland China with a total volume of 83m litres. 93% of wine exports to the country were of the red variety, contributing to a 25% increase in Shiraz exports.
The tariffs, first imposed by China in late 2020 as part of a suite of restrictions, were fallout from a diplomatic spat which included the previous Australian government’s decision to bar tech firm Huawei from bidding for the country’s 5G tender, among other disagreements.
Despite the welcome increase in exports, Peter Bailey, manager, market insights at Wine Australia, is wary that Chinese demand has not rebounded to pre-tariff levels.
“While there has been month-to-month volatility in the value of shipments to mainland China in the period since tariffs were removed, the performance is nonetheless very positive,” he commented. “However, Chinese wine consumption is much lower than it was before the import tariffs were imposed, so it will take more time before it becomes clear what the ‘new normal’ level of exports to mainland China will be, after this initial re-stocking period.”
The rest of the world market has seen a decline in exports for Australian wines, overall seeing a 13% drop in value to $1.64bn. Whether the Chinese market will follow this trend will be of concern to winemakers in the country.
North American exports declined by 5% to $482m, offset slightly by growth in exports to Canada. There was also a decline seen in Europe with a 4% drop to $482m, including a -3% value drop in exports to the UK to $352m. Declines were also seen in other Asian markets, though long-term growth is still positive for these countries with a 4% uptick over the past five years.
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