More than 80 per cent of the future global middle class is expected to reside in the Asia-Pacific region, according to World Data Lab. This suggests that Asia-Pacific will offer potential growth opportunities for the Australian wine sector in the next decade.
Within Asia-Pacific, Southeast Asia remains one of the world’s fastest-growing regions with countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines consistently posting strong GDP growth, often exceeding 5 per cent annually. Despite short-term global headwinds such as trade barriers and inflation, the region’s fundamentals –young populations, urbanisation, digital adoption, and rising middle class – support sustained economic growth. Proximity to Australia adds to the region’s attractiveness.
While wine is an emerging category in Southeast Asia, IWSR reports that the value of wine sales in the region have grown at 2 per cent per annum over the past decade, with growth interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation in recent years.
The Australian wine category is well-placed in Southeast Asia, and this Market Bulletin examines how Australian wine exports are performing in the region.
Australian exports
Over the past decade, albeit with some annual volatility, Australian wine exports to Southeast Asia have generally been on upward trend, with value growing on average by 6 per cent per annum to reach $251 million and volume by 4 per cent per annum to 23 million litres in the 12 months ended September 2025 (see Figure 1).
In comparison over the same period, exports to the rest of the world increased in value by 2 per cent per annum and volume declined by 2 per cent per annum. As a result, Southeast Asia’s share of Australian exports increased in the past decade in value from 7 per cent to 10 per cent and volume doubled from 2 per cent to 4 per cent.
Figure 1: Australian wine exports to Southeast Asia
Source: Wine Australia
Thailand and Singapore are by far the two largest destinations for Australian wine exports in Southeast Asia and were also the main drivers behind the volume growth in the past 12 months (see Figure 2).
Exports to Thailand grew by 10 per cent to 8 million litres and to Singapore by 5 per cent to 6.5 million litres. It should be noted that Singapore is a major trading hub and thus some wine is re-exported to other destinations in the Asian region.
Off a much smaller base, there was also growth to Malaysia, with exports up 4 per cent to 2.7 million litres. Exports to Philippines and Vietnam declined in the past 12 months however the volumes to both destinations are still significantly higher than five years ago.
Figure 2: Volume of Australian wine exports to Southeast Asia by Destination
Source: Wine Australia
Red wine accounted for three-quarters of the exports to Southeast Asia and for virtually all the growth over the past 12 months. There are slight differences in the red wine share of exports by destination with Vietnam having the highest red wine share at 83 per cent and the Philippines the lowest at 61 per cent.
Almost 90 per cent of the wine exports to the region are in bottles. The average value of the bottled exports was $12.37 per litre compared to $9.37 per litre for the rest of the world. This indicates a higher proportion of premium wine in exports to Southeast Asia.
There are distinct differences in price by destination. Singapore has the highest average value of bottled wine exports at $19 per litre, with Malaysia ($18), Indonesia ($15) and Vietnam ($12). In comparison, the average value per litre was much lower in Thailand ($7) and Philippines ($5).
In-market opportunities
Southeast Asia remains a key focus for Wine Australia’s market development activities. Recently, Wine Australia showcased the diversity and excellence of Australian wines in Vietnam with the Australian Wine Now training series and masterclasses across Ho Chi Minh City and Danang. And in Thailand, through a partner, Wine Australia recently delivered Classic and Contemporary Australian wine seminars in Bangkok to 60 key members of the trade.
A program of activities is planned across the priority markets in the region for 2026 including Australian Wine Discovered masterclasses, capability building work related to consumer research commissioned by Wine Australia, and an Australian Wine Roadshow Southeast Asia, to help exporting wineries capitalise on the growth opportunities across the region. Australian wineries and exporters can sign up to Wine Australia’s Global Marketing Opportunities newsletter or keep an eye on our website for more information on activities.