The New Zealand Winegrowers Association recently released its annual report for the 2024 fiscal year, revealing a challenging year for the country’s wine exports. With the U.S. market—responsible for over one-third of New Zealand’s total exports—experiencing a downturn, the overall export volume and value both saw double-digit declines. However, there was a bright spot: the mainland China market, ranked seventh, recorded growth in both volume and value, highlighting the rising popularity of New Zealand wines, particularly white wines, in China.
According to the report, New Zealand’s total wine exports for the 12 months ending June 2024 saw a decline. The export volume was 276.2 million liters, down 12.54% year-on-year, while the export value, based on FOB prices, totaled NZD 2.11 billion (US$1.3 billion), a 12.27% decrease.
Domestically, New Zealand sold just 78.8 million liters of wine in the same period, with exports accounting for 77.7% of its total wine sales, underscoring the country’s reliance on international markets.
Despite these overall challenges, mainland China stood out with an increase in both export volume and value. Export volume to China reached 2.762 million liters, a modest year-on-year rise of 0.69%, while export value grew 5.20% to NZD 38.22 million (US$23.5 million).
A few years ago, China’s wine market saw rapid growth. In the 2022 fiscal year, New Zealand’s wine exports to China surged by 25.14% in volume and 30.01% in value. However, growth slowed significantly in 2023, with export volume barely rising and export value dipping slightly. While 2024 marked a return to growth, the increases were modest. According to Cai Lei, China Sales Manager of Babich Wines, this slowdown is partly due to fewer “impulse buys” by importers. “In recent years, the awareness of New Zealand white wines in China has grown significantly. Some wine merchants jumped at the opportunity and imported several containers, but others rushed in and quickly pulled out when sales didn’t meet expectations. The data suggests that the market frenzy is over, and things have stabilized,” Cai explained.
White wines dominate New Zealand’s exports to China, with 2.25 million liters of white wine shipped during the 2024 fiscal year. Interestingly, the average price per liter of white wine exported to China was NZD 12.88 (US$7.9) —higher than in any of New Zealand’s top six export markets. In comparison, the price per liter in the UK, the second-largest destination, was only NZD 6.15, less than half the price in China. This indicates that China’s market is skewed towards premium products.
In China, New Zealand white wines typically retail for around RMB 100, with private-label products from large retailers like Sam’s Club and Hema Fresh available for as low as RMB 60. On the other end of the spectrum, Cloudy Bay, the renowned New Zealand brand under LVMH, commands an official retail price of over RMB 326. Even parallel imports of Cloudy Bay can sell for RMB 250 per bottle, cementing its position as the most well-known white wine in China. The large volume of Cloudy Bay sold in the Chinese market has clearly driven up the average price of New Zealand white wines.
Li Yajun, CEO of Merveille Business in Shanghai, which specializes in New Zealand wines, attributes the higher unit price to Cloudy Bay’s dominance. “Cloudy Bay has spent years cultivating the Chinese market, gaining widespread acceptance. This has encouraged many merchants to sell this high-value wine. Moreover, Cloudy Bay has elevated the entire New Zealand wine category, prompting some Chinese wine merchants to benchmark against it and promote New Zealand white wines of similar quality. All these factors contribute to the higher price point of New Zealand white wines in China,” Li remarked.