Cheers to a bumper year: Australian wine exports pop to $2.5 billion in 2024

Australian wine has made a splash on the global stage, with exports fizzing up to a frothy $2.55 billion this past year, showing a robust increase of 34 per cent in value and a 7 per cent uplift in volume, pouring out 649 million litres worldwide.

The toast of the town? Our vineyards’ vibrant venture back into China, where from April to December, after tariffs on bottled wines were uncorked, we shipped a heady 83 million litres valued at a $902 million.

Peter Bailey, Wine Australia’s guru of grape stats and Market Insights Manager, shared, “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.”

Yet, he tempers the excitement with a dash of realism: “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.”

Globally, though, the wine world isn’t all clinking glasses.

Outside the China cheers, other markets are feeling the hangover of global challenges. The total value of Aussie wine exports elsewhere dipped by 13 per cent to $1.64 billion, with volume shrinking by 7 per cent. This was partly due to a sobering drop in Hong Kong and the U.S., where unpackaged wine exports have wilted.

North America showed mixed results; the U.S. market sobered up a bit, dipping 5 per cent to $482 million, while Canada provided a bit of a cushion. Europe was a mixed vineyard too, with traditional power drinkers like the UK and Germany tightening their belts, while the Nordic and Baltic nations popped a few more corks in our favour.

Bailey remains cautiously optimistic, “Continued growth is not assured, and it is still important to focus on market diversification in a challenging global business environment.”

As the world’s vintners navigate through the vines of health trends and economic squalls, Australian wines are decanting efforts into not just maintaining but expanding their global palate.

Credit Facebook/Wine Australia