Australian wine exports dropped by 19% to A$2.08bn within the 12 months to 30 June, stated commerce physique Wine Australia this week.
Whereas exports to some international locations rose, notably the US, the group’s report for the 2021-22 monetary 12 months provided contemporary perception right into a slide in shipments to China.
Mainland China imposed various import tariffs starting from 116% to greater than 200% on Australian bottled wines from late 2020 onwards.
Exports to China, together with Hong Kong and Macau, dropped by 74% within the 12 months to 30 June 2022, to A$206m, stated Wine Australia, which lately introduced plans to shut its bodily workplace in Shanghai.
Shipments to mainland China totalled simply A$25m for the 12 months, and the variety of firms exporting to the mainland fell to 143, in comparison with 1,508 within the earlier 12 months.
‘The loss in worth of exports to mainland China, from its peak in [the year ended] October 2020 to the most recent 12-month interval, has been A$1.23bn,’ stated Wine Australia’s newest export report.
‘As compared, over the identical time interval, exports to the remainder of the world have elevated by $247 million,’ it stated.
China’s Ministry of Commerce confirmed the import tariffs on Australian wine final 12 months, citing an anti-dumping investigation.
They may very well be in place for 5 years, however Australia and China are at the moment engaged in a dispute course of on the World Commerce Organisation.
Australia’s new authorities lately took workplace and a few experiences have famous hotter rhetoric between the 2 nations, but it’s early days.
Penfolds proprietor Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) has stated it stays dedicated to China. In Might, it introduced plans to launch Penfolds wine made in China onto the home Chinese language market within the second half of calendar 2022.
‘China is an rising high-quality winemaking area and we’re assured we are able to produce a premium Chinese language Penfolds that maintains the distinctive Penfolds home type,’ stated TWE’s CEO, Tim Ford.
Produced within the Ningxia area, it’s a part of a wider ‘multi-country of origin’ technique for Penfolds, however tariffs had been understood to have accelerated the China undertaking.
TWE has additionally signed a long-term ‘strategic co-operation settlement’ with the China Alcoholic Drinks Affiliation (CADA).
Australian wine in the remainder of the world
Some international locations confirmed stronger demand for Australian wine within the 12 months to 30 June.
‘When mainland China is excluded from the information, exports elevated by 5 per cent in worth to A$2.06 billion,’ stated Peter Bailey, Wine Australia supervisor, market insights.
‘The important thing contributors to the worth progress included Singapore, america (US), Malaysia, Thailand, India and New Zealand.’
Exports to the US rose by 9% to A$436m, making it Australia’s most beneficial wine export market. Shipments to Singapore jumped by 49% to $169m.
Australian wineries have turned a nook within the US, stated Aaron Ridgway, Wine Australia’s regional common supervisor for the Americas. ‘The variety of energetic exporters has expanded to a 15-year excessive,’ he stated.
Exports to the UK dropped by 10% to A$421m and by 15% in quantity, to 227m litres. But the nation was nonetheless the second greatest export marketplace for Australian wine by worth, and the biggest by quantity.
