Is Australian wine roaring back into China after several years in the wilderness? Vino Joy News certainly thinks so.
In an article titled, ‘Australian Wines Roar Back in China as Buyers Restock’, Vino Joy News says Chinese importers are buying Australian wine again in “growing volumes”, a sign that the flood of shipments that followed the removal of punitive tariffs has been absorbed by the market and buyers are beginning to restock.
“China imported 45.2 million litres of Australian wine in the first half of 2026, up 30.27 percent from a year earlier, according to Chinese customs data compiled by Vino Joy News,” the article says.
“Import value rose 17.72 percent to US$316.7 million, keeping Australia firmly in place as China’s largest wine supplier.
“The increase marks an important turning point for Australian wine in China.
“After Beijing lifted anti-dumping and countervailing duties in March 2024, producers and importers rushed large volumes of wine back into the market, raising concerns that inventories would build faster than consumer demand could absorb them.”
A media company covering the wine industry in Asia based in Hong Kong, Vino Joy News says the latest figures suggest much of that initial stock has now moved through distribution channels and into consumption.
“Importers, distributors and retailers appear to be returning to the market to replenish inventories, indicating that demand for Australian wine has proved resilient despite weak conditions across China’s broader wine sector,” Vino Joy says.
“Australia’s renewed momentum helped push the value of China’s total wine imports back into growth in the first half of 2026, even as overall volumes continued to decline.”
Green shoots
Australian wine exporter Mitchell Taylor from Taylors Wines based in Clare says he is not sure about the “roar” description, but there are green shoots.
“While we all love a positive story on the Australian wine industry, I feel the term ‘roar’ is a little ambitious!” he says.
“China is still a very tough market with consumer confidence taking a hit, however I would like to use the term ‘green shoots’ and we have had some very positive indications from our distributors in rebuilding our premium red brands such as St Andrews and Jaraman.”
And also some interest in our Clare Valley Riesling which is a new trend… we are cautiously optimistic that the consumer sentiment is starting to improve, but there is still a long way from the golden years of yesteryear before the punitive tariffs setback in 2021.”
Mitchell says Canada is going well for the family business.
“If I had to use the term ‘roar’ on one of our international markets it would probably be Canada, due to the global trade war with the USA and also the hard work of our team in building a premium brand in that market over many decades,” he says.
“It is still very tough trading conditions out in all the international markets with cost pressures and uncertainty but the trend for quality wine with a respected brand and region is promising, with our customers trading upwards and hence the focus of our team in the future.”
The latest figures released by Wine Australia in April show that Australian wine exports fell by 14 percent to $2.28 billion and seven percent in volume to 603 million litres in the 12 months ended March 2026.
Exports to mainland China declined by 29 percent in value to $780 million and 25 percent in volume to 73 million litres.
The figures show that there was a slight recovery in volume in February and March.
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