Dollar and China drive Australian wine exports
by Leon Gettler
Australian wine exports surged 14 per cent to reach $2.1 billion in 2015, up two per cent on 2014, according to Wine Australia figures
For sure the depreciating Australian dollar helped the figures.
But the Wine Australia data shows that China played a big role.
The value of wine exports just to China grew by 66 per cent to $370 million.
China has become a big market for Australian wine because of the growing middle class. The great opportunity for Australian wine makers is to differentiate themselves from international competitors by concentrating on selling more premium vintages in China.
Wine Australia expects this to improve even further with the Free Trade Agreement with China commencing at the end of last year.
Good growth is also expected out of Asia with wine exports value to Singapore growing by 30 percent and 27 per cent in quantity.
Wine sales to America are strong too. America remains the most profitable wine export market for Australian vintners with sales to the US reaching $443 million, up four percent from last year.
28th January 2016
