Subdued Chinese demand was a key contributor to a decline in Australia’s wine exports last year, according to the Australian government agency that promotes the industry.
With consumer sentiment and evolving tastes reshaping the Chinese market, shipments to mainland China fell 17 per cent year on year to A$755 million (US$532.10 million) – the biggest single factor in an 8 per cent fall in Australia’s total wine exports last year – Wine Australia said in a report released on Wednesday.
The weak performance in China, which came despite the removal of tariffs of up to 218.4 per cent on Australian wine in March 2024, was in line with a long-term trend of declining consumption.
Those tariffs, imposed in response to Canberra’s call for an investigation into the origins of Covid-19, resulted in the importation of just 1 litre of Australian wine in January 2024.
“While the reopening of the mainland China market at the end of March 2024 provided some temporary relief in the decline in total exports, the Chinese wine market is one-third of the size it was five years ago – impacting both domestically produced and imported wines,” said Peter Bailey, Wine Australia’s manager of market insights.
He said weak consumer confidence was also continuing to weigh on household spending in China, with only “minor improvements” in sentiment seen since an all-time low in 2022 during the country’s coronavirus pandemic restrictions.
Australian wine exports last year dropped by 8 per cent in value to A$2.34 billion (US$1.65 billion) and 6 per cent in volume to 613 million litres (161.94 million gallons).
Australia supplied just under one-third of China’s wine imports in 2024 in value terms, with its other major markets including the United States and the United Kingdom.
But China, the Australian wine industry’s biggest customer, is moving towards greater diversification and personalisation as younger consumers show greater preference for health-conscious options, low-alcohol beverages and domestic products.
China’s annual wine consumption fell by about 47 per cent from 2021 to 2024, declining from about 10.5 million hectolitres (277.38 million gallons) to 5.5 million hectolitres (145.29 million gallons), according to the latest figures from the International Organisation of Vine and Wine.
Over the past five years, domestic wines have become the mainstay of the Chinese market, with their market share rising to about 55 per cent in 2024, according to the China Alcoholic Drinks Association.
While New Zealand wines have a smaller share of the Chinese market than their Australian competitors, imports grew strongly last year, with sales of sauvignon blanc, a light-bodied white wine, leading the way.
New Zealand Wine, the organisation that represents the country’s grape and wine sector, said the volume of wine exported to China rose nearly 50 per cent last year to 5 million litres (1.32 million gallons), while the value of shipments was up about 30 per cent at US$44 million.
In an article posted on its WeChat account last week, it attributed the improvement to “growing demand in the Chinese market for easy-drinking, approachable wines”.
In a market analysis released this month, the Shenzhen Wine Industry Association said the industry, “once a symbol of elegance and tradition, is now being disrupted by young people”.
It said consumers in their twenties – members of Gen Z – are seeking mild intoxication rather than inebriation, and prefer low-alcohol products to wines with an alcohol content of 12 to 13 per cent. This cohort no longer blindly favours imported wines, it added.
According to Chinese customs data, total wine imports fell about 26 per cent by volume last year and 10 per cent in value terms, but the average import price rose more than 21 per cent. —
