Australian wine exports have defied the COVID-19 pandemic by continuing steady growth in all top-five markets and increasing in overall value by four per cent to $2.998bn.
Wine Australia’s Export Report shows that in the 12 months ended September 2020 the average value of Australian wine exports also increased by four per cent, to $3.89 per litre.
The volume of exports declined slightly by 0.4 per cent to 771 million litres (85.7 million cases).
Wine Australia Chief Executive Officer Andreas Clark said: “Despite the unprecedented disruption that we’ve seen in markets around the world, Australian wine export volume has held reasonably steady and it is particularly pleasing to see both the overall value and the average value of exports growing during these challenging times.
“During the July to September 2020 quarter, the value of exports increased by 23 per cent compared to the same period in 2019, and this comes after declines of four per cent in the April to June quarter and seven per cent in the January to March quarter.
“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been clear trends for wine consumption emerging around the world. While premiumisation has continued, there has also been a resurgence in commercial wines, and this is evident in the growth that we’ve seen in different price segments, where it was particularly strong at the low and high ends,’ Clark said.
“Different markets have had different trends. In markets such as the UK and United States of America (USA), growth was primarily at the commercial/value end, while in China growth for premium wines has remained strong this year.”
The top five destinations by value are:
- Mainland China, up 4 per cent to $1.2 billion
- United States of America (USA), up 1 per cent to $439 million
- United Kingdom, up 18 per cent to $430 million
- Canada, up 4 per cent to $196 million, and
- New Zealand, up 9 per cent to $103 million.
In the 12 months ended September 2020, Australian exporters shipped wine to 117 destinations. The most significant growth came in exports to Europe, up 16 per cent to $678 million and over-taking North America in value terms for the first time since 2011.