Australian Wine Exports Jump 14 Percent to $2.1 Billion

Media Release

The Wine Australia Export Report December 2015 shows that the value of Australian wine exports jumped 14 percent to $2.1 billion in 2015, reaching its highest value since October 2007.

Wine Australia CEO Andreas Clark said, “Pleasingly, our latest Export Report shows that the value of Australian wine exports grew in each of the top 15 export markets in the year ended 31 December 2015.

“This export growth should be warmly welcomed by the Australian grapegrowing and winemaking community as it is largely a result of their hard work.

“Our global team is committed to working with wine businesses to capture export opportunities and we encourage businesses to contact us to discuss how we can assist them.”

Guy Adams, managing director of Langhorne Creek wine company Brothers in Arms, attributes their export success in the important US market to “a significant investment in time and cash”, “patience and persistence” as well as “having access to a consistent supply of quality product at the right price”.

He believes that companies interested in the US market need to invest in shoe leather, saying “they must be prepared to invest in the travel the market requires for success.”

This is the first time that there has been growth in each of the top 15 markets in a calendar year.

The strongest growth was in China, which grew 66 percent to $370 million.

The value of exports increased at each price point and the largest increase was in wines with a free on board (FOB) value over $10 per litre. Sales of these wines grew by 35 percent to a record $480 million. They now make up 23 percent of the value of Australia’s wine exports.

A detailed breakdown of this growth for exports of wines with a FOB over $10 per litre shows wines valued at FOB:

$10.00–14.99 grew 24 percent
$15.00–19.99 grew 55 percent
$20.00–29.99 grew 22 percent
$30.00–49.99 grew 16 percent
$50.00–99.99 grew 59 percent
$100.00–199.99 grew 40 percent
$200.00 + grew 23 percent.

Bottled wine has been the key driver of the export success. Bottled exports increased by 17 percent to $1.6 billion and the average value increased by seven percent to $5.20 per litre. This is the highest value since 2003 on a calendar year basis.

There were 1,517 active exporters in 2015 (up from 1,395 in 2014) and Australian wine was exported to 122 destinations. The top five markets by value are:

The USA, which increased by 4 per cent to $443 million
The UK (Australia’s number one market by volume), which increased 0.2 percent to $376 million
China, which increased 66 percent to $370 million
Canada, which increased 7 percent to $193 million, and
Hong Kong, which increased 22 percent to $132 million.