Chinese tariffs on Australian wine have crippled the country’s wine producers for three years, but in 2023 it was Europe and North America which drove the reduction in value exports. Australian wine exports declined by 2% in value and 3% in volume in the 12 months to December 2023, Wine Australia has reported. Value exports are now worth AU$1.90 billion, and 607 million litres of wine were exported from Australia over the 12 month period. The results are still well below long-term averages, despite being an improvement on those reported in September 2023. 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. Peter Bailey, Wine Australia’s manager for market insights, explained that higher inflation rates compared to North America and Asia have caused the decline, compounded by supply chain issues. This includes the UK, which is Australia’s biggest export market by volume. But “pleasingly,” Bailey said, “Australia’s exports to the UK grew in volume for the first time since mid-2021”. Inflation may have been a factor in reducing exports to Europe, but value exports were also down in North America, which is less impacted by these pressures. Both the US and Canada contributed to North America’s decline in value. Bailey said: “In 2023, packaged shipments to these markets continued their decline and unpackaged shipments, which were growing strongly, have started to ease off.” Europe and North America’s respective
This Article was originally published on The Drink Business - Wine
