Australian wine exports increased by 15 per cent to $2.56 billion in the 12 months ending December 2017, according to Wine Australia’s Export Report released today.
It was a record-breaking year for Australian wine exports, with total volume reaching a calendar year high of 811 million litres, the average value of bottled wine growing by 3 per cent to a record value of $5.63 per litre free on board (FOB), and the value of wines exported above $10 per litre increasing by 29 per cent to an all-time high of $738 million.
Wine exported in bulk also experienced price increases, with total value increasing by 10 per cent to $440 million and average value per litre increasing by 6 per cent to $1.03, the highest average value since 2012.
There were healthy growth rates in almost all price points, revealing added value across the price spectrum (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: Exports by price point (FOB)
| Price segment (A$/litre) | MAT December 2017 | Value change | Growth rate |
| $2.49 and under | $511,230,356 | $76,436,923 | 18% |
| $2.50 to $4.99 | $829,999,393 | $42,768,086 | 5% |
| $5.00 to $7.49 | $332,034,222 | $48,491,468 | 17% |
| $7.50 to $9.99 | $150,448,428 | $8,126,188 | 6% |
| $10.00 to $14.99 | $200,552,005 | $30,711,339 | 18% |
| $15.00 to $19.99 | $76,674,239 | ($10,110,144) | -12% |
| $20.00 to $29.99 | $131,612,861 | $49,267,099 | 60% |
| $30.00 to $49.99 | $94,210,830 | $32,374,491 | 52% |
| $50.00 to $99.99 | $164,096,793 | $35,281,907 | 27% |
| $100.00 to $199.99 | $17,152,041 | $4,715,133 | 38% |
| $200.00 + | $53,727,561 | $21,643,089 | 67% |
| Total value | $2,561,738,728 | $339,705,582 | 15% |
As illustrated in Figure 2, exports to Northeast Asia were the growth driver with exports to this region increasing by 47 per cent to over $1 billion for the first time.
Exports also grew to:
- Europe by 1 per cent to $576 million
- Southeast Asia by 2 per cent to $165 million, and
- Oceania by 8 per cent to $94 million.
Exports to North America decreased slightly by 2 per cent to $636 million. However, exports of wines to the United States of America (USA) valued at $10 per litre or more (that sell for US$14 or more per bottle retail) increased by 8 per cent to $45 million.
Figure 2: Value growth by region
Red wine continued to be the most popular Australian wine style exported, contributing three-quarters of total export value. The value of red wine exports increased by 19 per cent to $1.9 billion. The value of white wine also grew, by 3 per cent to $552 million.
Although a smaller category, sparkling wine also grew at an encouraging rate of 7 per cent to $49 million. Driving this increase was the growth in popularity of Australian sparkling wine in New Zealand and China, where the exported value increased by $2 million for each market.
