Australian Wine Exports to China Skyrocket After Tariff Removal

Following the removal of tariffs, Australian wine exports have surged in the month of April, jumping by more than 675% in volume and an explosive 8300% in value, boosting China’s overall wine imports.

Data from the General Administration of Customs indicates that in April, China (excluding Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) imported 210 million liters of wine, marking a 19.14% year-on-year increase. The import value ascended to US$113 million, representing growths of 44.64% month-on-month and 44.72% year-on-year.

A breakdown of bottled wine imports by country of origin revealed growth across most countries, with notable declines only in volumes and values from Spain and New Zealand. This suggests a robust recovery, propelled by Australia’s comeback, which, following the late March tariff lift, positioned it as China’s third-largest wine supplier in April by value. Specifically, Australia’s import value reached US$10.44 million, an 8189% increase from the previous year, while volume increased by 657%.

Despite these impressive figures, the volume of Australian wines remained substantially lower than that of France and Chile, also trailing behind Italy and Spain. This indicates a significant influx of high-value Australian wines into the Chinese market.

French wine imports grew modestly in volume by 0.18%, but saw a substantial value increase of 41.52%, suggesting a similar trend of high-value entries.

Recovery Gains Steam

From January to April 2024, wine imports maintained a positive trajectory, with total volumes and values increasing by 7.41% and 1.29%, respectively. The presence of Australian wines is expected to further bolster the bottled wine category in the coming months.

Boxed wines emerged as the standout category during this period, recording a 32.08% increase in volume and a 73.65% surge in value, the highest among all categories, attributed to significant imports in the first quarter.

While France continued to be the leading source of bottled wine imports, both its volume and value experienced year-on-year declines, with Chile closely matching France’s import volume. This significant drop in French imports from January to March saw some recovery in April, but it was insufficient to offset earlier losses.

Australia exhibited the fastest growth among all sources, with a 648.82% increase in volume and a 5310.38% surge in value in the first four months, largely due to the cessation of anti-dumping measures against its wines.

Amidst Australia’s rise, Chile demonstrated resilience, maintaining growth thanks to its strong reputation in China for both major brands and boutique offerings.

Reflecting on the performance of the top ten wine source countries from the previous year, only a few showed growth. This year, however, apart from Spain, Germany, and South Africa, which saw declines in both volume and value, all other countries indicated overall recovery.

In the sparkling wine segment, France led in import value, primarily due to high-priced Champagne, while Italy led in volume, primarily through Prosecco imports. Australian sparkling wines also saw growth, hinting at a renewed interest from Chinese importers.

In the specific category of wines in containers of 2 to 10 liters, primarily boxed wines, Australia’s import value outpaced that of the United States, although the U.S. maintained a volume four times that of Australia. Other origins showed negligible volume and value, except for Brazil, which despite having no data from the previous year, entered the top ten in value from January to March this year.

In the bulk wine sector, Chile maintained its lead, but Australia showed significant growth. The renewed interest in Australian bulk wines reflects the market’s adaptation to the reopening of trade routes, while Spain’s competitiveness continues to wane.