Germany – the world’s biggest imported wine market

Germany is the world’s biggest imported wine market and fourth largest wine market overall. According to the Global Trade Atlas, Germany imported 1.45 billion litres of wine in 2016–17. This puts Germany ahead of the United Kingdom (1.37 billion litres) and the United States (1.16 billion litres). It is also one of the world’s most developed wine markets.

More than three-quarters of the wine Germany imports is from the big three European producers – Italy, France and Spain. Australian exports are ranked seventh, behind the big three, South Africa, Chile and the United States. Chilean wines have been rising steadily, while French wines are in long-term decline, according to the IWSR.

Germany is a mature wine market with two-thirds of the adult population being wine drinkers. At 30 litres per head, Germans are ranked 15^th in the world for average wine consumption. Consumption had been in decline for much of the last decade, but it is now stabilising.  

Australian wine exports to Germany are growing

Germany is Australia’s eighth biggest market by value and fifth biggest by volume. The lower value ranking is due to more than 80 per cent of Australian wine being shipped in bulk containers.

In the 12 months ended September 2017, Australia exported 39 million litres to Germany at a value of $51 million. Volume increased by 6 per cent and value by 10 per cent.

Reflecting the bulk shipments, exports below $2.50 per litre increased by 17 per cent to $35 million with much of this wine destined for German supermarkets. At the other end of the price scale, exports at $10 or more per litre increased by 14 per cent to $3.6 million. The growth was mainly between $10–49.99 per litre (see figure 1).

Since falling to a low of $2.3 million in 2011, the value of exports at $10 or more per litre to Germany has grown by an average of 8 per cent per annum. This suggests that while Germans are very price conscious, there is a market for Australia’s finer wines.

Figure 1: Australian exports to Germany by price segment, 12 months ended September 2017

Source: Wine Australia

Wine Intelligence ranked Germany as the world’s second most attractive wine market in the Global Compass Report 2017–18, based on a range of economic and wine measures.

For more information on the German wine market, contact Wine Australia’s EMEA team at uk@wineaustralia.com