Australian wine exports to mainland China exceed $1 billion one year after removal of tariffs

In the 12 months ended March 2025, Australian wine exports increased by 41 per cent in value to $2.64 billion and by 6 per cent in volume to 647 million litres, according to Wine Australia’s Export Report released today. The average value of exports increased by 33 per cent to $4.09 per litre free on board (FOB), the highest average value in almost two decades. 

Peter Bailey, Manager, Market Insights, Wine Australia said, “the increase in average value is mainly due to the elevated level of premium wine shipments to mainland China, after tariffs on Australian bottled wine were removed at the end of March 2024. The 12 months ended March 2025 represented a full year’s worth of exports to mainland China since the tariffs were eliminated – resulting in 96 million litres of exports to the market, valued at $1.03 billion.

“While the total value of shipments to mainland China is now at a similar level to the years immediately before tariffs on Australian bottled wine came into force, volume in the last 12 months is 23 per cent smaller than the 5-year average between 2016 and 2020 and 44 per cent below the peak in 2018.

“Additionally, the average value of packaged wine shipped to mainland China was $23.00 per litre, much higher than any other major export market. The lower volume and high average value demonstrate that mainland China is a premium market for Australian wine and will therefore not solve oversupply issues in Australia.” 

Exports to the rest of the world (excluding mainland China) declined by 13 per cent in value to $1.62 billion and 9 per cent in volume to 551 million litres. This was the lowest value to the rest of the world in ten years and lowest volume in over twenty years. While the decline in value was mainly driven by Hong Kong as sales transitioned to mainland China, the volume drop was due to the declines in exports key destinations such as the United Kingdom (UK), United States (US), and Canada.

The global wine market is facing considerable headwinds which are impacting on results for other markets aside from mainland China and are unlikely to be resolved in the near-term. While there has been a long-term trend of consumers drinking less alcohol due to health and wellness concerns, more recent cost-of-living pressures could continue or potentially get worse in certain markets, given the economic and political turmoil taking place globally. Escalating trade wars have the potential to increase prices, complicate supply chains, and rapidly change the competitive landscape in key wine markets in the near-term. 

On 2 April 2025, US President Trump announced tariffs on all importing countries, including Australia. Australian wine is now subject to a 10 per cent tariff on arrival in the US. At the time of publication, all other nations also had a 10 per cent tariff applied, however the situation is evolving and there is still a lot of uncertainty about what the longer-term position might be. Because there are a number of factors to account for – how much of the increased cost will get passed on to consumers, the effect of a global trade war on foreign exchange rates, and whether consumers will start to switch to domestic wines – it is hard to predict how this will affect Australian wine exports to the US in the short-to-medium term.

In the 12 months ended March 2025, Australian wine exports to the US declined by 17 per cent in volume to 106 million litres and 9 per cent in value to $323 million, making it Australia’s second largest market by volume and third largest market by value. Exports to the United States have been on a long-term decline, with Australian exports now at the lowest level since the early 2000’s.

Australian wine exports to the UK, the largest export market by volume, declined by 8 per cent in volume to 208 million litres and 3 per cent in value to $353 million. Despite this decline, the number of exporters shipping to the UK increased to 314 businesses, up by 23 from the previous 12 months. Of the top 20 exporters by value, 15 experienced a growth in export value in the past year. 

Exports to Canada declined by 19 per cent in volume to 60 million litres and increased by 3 per cent in value to $151 million. Average value grew by 27 per cent to $2.53 per litre, driven by an increase in packaged exports with an average value of $5 per litre and above, and a decline in unpackaged exports. 

The top five destinations by value were:
•    Mainland China (up $1.01 billion to $1.03 billion)
•    UK (down $12 million to $353 million)
•    US (down $32 million to $323 million)
•    Hong Kong (down $136 million to $154 million), and
•    Canada (up $3.8 million to $151 million).

The top five destinations by volume were:
•    UK (down 19 million litres to 208 million litres)
•    US (down 21 million litres to 106 million litres)
•    Mainland China (up 94 million litres to 96 million litres)
•    Canada (down 14 million litres to 60 million litres), and
•    New Zealand (down 3.5 million litres to 26 million litres).

For more information, refer to Wine Australia’s Export Report and Wine Australia’s Export Dashboard. 

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Report: Wine Australia’s Export Report is available for download here.

Data: Wine Australia’s Export Report data is available to filter and customise (including by export destination and the wine’s origin state) here.   

FOB: ‘Free on board' value of the wine, where the point of valuation is where goods are placed on board the international carrier, at the border of the exporting country. The FOB value includes production and other costs up until placement on the international carrier but excludes international insurance and transport costs.

Values: Unless otherwise stated all values are given in Australian dollars.