Latest news with #PeterBailey
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Australian wine export value bounces back in China, volumes not yet recovered
Australian wine exports to China exceeded A$1bn ($640m) in the 12 months since tariffs were lifted in March 2024, but volumes are not yet back to pre-tariff levels, new data from the trade body Wine Australia shows. China lifted hefty tariffs on Australian wine at the end of March last year, ending three years of punitive taxes which devastated some of Australia's winemaking regions. In 2024, mainland China was the top destination by value, with exports growing nearly 2% to $1.03bn, according to Wine Australia's Export Report which covers the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025. While value of exports to China are now "at a similar" level to where they were before tariffs came into force, volumes sold are yet to recover, Wine Australia's market insights manager Peter Bailey said in a statement. Over the 12-month period export volumes of Australian wine to China grew roughly 2% to 96 million litres, a 44% drop from its peak in 2018, he said. "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% smaller than the 5-year average between 2016 and 2020 and 44% below the peak in 2018." Bailey added that though the value of exports to mainland China was relatively back to pre-tariff levels, volume levels showed the region was "a premium market for Australian wine and will therefore not solve oversupply issues in Australia'. Total international exports from Australia increased 41% to A$2.64bn from April 2024 through March, and by volume grew 6% to 647 million litres. The average value of exports increased 33% to A$4.09 per litre, its highest average in almost two decades. China was key to the overall success of exports. International exports, excluding mainland China, declined 13% in value to A$1.62 billion and 9% in volume to 551 million litres, the lowest value for exports excluding China in ten years and lowest volume in over twenty years. The decline in value was driven by lower Hong Kong sales, while the volume drop was due to lower demand in UK, the US and Canada, the trade body said. In the twelve month period, export volumes to the UK dropped 8% to 208 million litres. Shipments to the US fell 17% to 106 million litres, and to Canada fell 19% to 60 million litres. Despite the upturn in exports to China, Wine Australia said tariffs, changing consumer habits and cost-of-living pressures were all live challenges. "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," the group said in a statement. "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," it added. "Australian wine export value bounces back in China, volumes not yet recovered" was originally created and published by Just Drinks, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
ABC News
01-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Australian wine exports drop to 20-year low excluding sales to China
Australian winemakers are deeply concerned about recent data indicating the nation is exporting some of its lowest wine volumes in more than two decades. Excluding China, the amount of Australian wine exported to the rest of the world declined in the past 12 months, as cheaper, bulk wine falls out of favour and health-conscious consumers drink less. While China took $1.03 billion worth of Australia's premium wine last year, Wine Australia's latest report shows the lucrative market has cooled from its peak. It has prompted Australian winemakers to again call for support to find new markets, or transition out of the industry. The Chinese market for Australian wine producers has reduced by more than two-thirds since 2018. ( Supplied Kingston Wine Estates ) Wine Australia marketing insights manager Peter Bailey said the industry faced tough times, and it could get worse. "What it shows is the global wine market is facing considerable headwinds, which are impacting on the results outside of China, and they're unlikely to be resolved in the near term," he said. " We're seeing a long-term trend of consumers drinking less alcohol due to health and wellbeing concerns, and more recently it's been around cost-of-living pressures, and these could get worse in certain markets given the economic and political turmoil taking place globally. " Premium wine drives growth Australia's overall wine exports increased 41 per cent in value last year to reach $2.64 billion, while overall volume increased by just six per cent. The increase in value was attributed mainly to premium wine heading to China after the removal of hefty tariffs last year. But the volume of wine exported to China was well below its pre-tariff peak, while exports to the rest of the world dropped by nine per cent. Almost 60 per cent of the wine produced in Australia is exported. ( ABC Riverland: Will Hunter ) Mr Bailey said China remained keen on Australia's premium wine but was not the solution to the industry's wider crisis. "The lower volume and higher value demonstrate that China is very much a premium market for Australian wine and will therefore not solve any oversupply issues," he said. Call for government support Kingston Estate Wines, in South Australia's Riverland, is one of Australia's leading bulk wine exporters. Managing director Bill Moularadellis said the entire industry was adapting to a very different Chinese market since tariffs. "We're all competing in a much smaller market, and there's been significant price deflation," he said. Mr Moularadellis said some premium brands had been able to grow sales in China, but it was important to look at the full picture. "It will be a mistake to allow the Chinese export sales growth to hide and mask the contraction in world consumption and exports into our established markets," he said. Kingston Estate Wines exports about 90 per cent of its total production. ( Supplied: Kingston Estate Wines ) Mr Moularadellis said the "seismic shift" in global drinking habits required new markets and products to revive the industry. "There has been a focus on premiumisation, and with that, there's been an abandonment of new product development that's targeted at new wine consumers," he said. "We must concentrate our efforts and resources on entry level products that recruit new consumers that ultimately become the premium wine consumers of tomorrow." Mr Moularadellis said the industry was "unfairly disadvantaged" through China's tariffs and needed government assistance through an expanded export market development grant scheme. Some silver linings Matt McCulloch, managing director at Langmeil Winery in the Barossa, welcomed the news that China had imported more than $1 billion worth of Australian wine last year. Photo shows A hand reaches for a glass of wine. A Harry Potter book is on the coffee table Australian wine exports have been hit by a global trend in people drinking less alcohol and cutting costs, but hope remains for the re-opening of a major market. "It's good to see the recovery in pretty challenging times that we've had since COVID, and then tariffs, then geopolitical tensions, cost-of-living pressures, overall … getting back up towards about 90 per cent of where we were before the events of 2020 onward took place," Mr McCulloch said. " However, that's the headline numbers. Within that, there's a lot of pain in the industry out there still at the moment. " Mr McCulloch said if consumption and production were falling for the Australian industry as a whole, but there was still an excess in the global wine sector, "then we've got to have a look at what we'll be doing in the future". "Which is focusing on being a better but not bigger industry, making fewer and finer wines," he said. "But that's going to be a relatively painful transition for some, more than others." ABC Rural RoundUp newsletter Stories from farms and country towns across Australia, delivered each Friday. Your information is being handled in accordance with the Email address Subscribe
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Australia's surge in wine exports to China begins to slow
By Peter Hobson CANBERRA (Reuters) -Australia's wine export boom to China that followed an improvement in relations between the two countries is showing signs of slowing, amid a broader global decline in the number of bottles headed to the world's second-largest economy. China is the Australian wine industry's most lucrative overseas market but its consumption of wine is falling sharply, amid a more gradual decline worldwide. Beijing's lifting of tariffs on March 29 last year triggered a surge in exports. Australia shipped just over A$1 billion ($640 million) of wine to China in the 12 months to March 31 this year, data from industry body Wine Australia show. That amount is just short of the record A$1.15 billion exported in the year to March 31, 2020 and follows a period of more than three years during which trade restrictions were in place and Australia shipped negligible amounts of wine to China. However, exports have slowed after the initial rush, totalling A$126 million in the first three months of 2025, the least for any January-to-March quarter since 2016. The influx of bottles from Australia in 2024 led to the first annual increase in China's wine imports since 2018, Chinese customs figures accessed using Trade Data Monitor show. China's imports from other nations such as France, Chile and Italy have more than halved since 2018 and continue to trend lower. "Australia has performed exceptionally well to get to a billion dollars," said Peter Bailey, market insights manager at Wine Australia. "There definitely has been a growth for Australia is not assured." China's trade barriers – imposed during a political spat between Beijing and Canberra in November 2020 – worsened Australia's wine glut, leading to huge inventories, a plunge in grape prices and a purge of vineyards. Wine Australia said China will not solve the oversupply problem as it is importing a smaller number of pricier bottles than before. Adding to those problems, Australia's wine exports to the rest of the world fell in the 12 months to March 31, it said. Bailey said Australia could benefit from Chinese tariffs on the United States, which will likely halt U.S. wine exports to China worth around $50 million a year, and from Canada's shift away from U.S. wine, but it was too early to know for sure. ($1 = 1.5601 Australian dollars)
Reuters
29-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Australia's surge in wine exports to China begins to slow
CANBERRA, April 29 (Reuters) - Australia's wine export boom to China that followed an improvement in relations between the two countries is showing signs of slowing, amid a broader global decline in the number of bottles headed to the world's second-largest economy. China is the Australian wine industry's most lucrative overseas market but its consumption of wine is falling sharply, amid a more gradual decline worldwide. Beijing's lifting of tariffs on March 29 last year triggered a surge in exports. Australia shipped just over A$1 billion ($640 million) of wine to China in the 12 months to March 31 this year, data from industry body Wine Australia show. That amount is just short of the record A$1.15 billion exported in the year to March 31, 2020 and follows a period of more than three years during which trade restrictions were in place and Australia shipped negligible amounts of wine to China. However, exports have slowed after the initial rush, totalling A$126 million in the first three months of 2025, the least for any January-to-March quarter since 2016. The influx of bottles from Australia in 2024 led to the first annual increase in China's wine imports since 2018, Chinese customs figures accessed using Trade Data Monitor show. China's imports from other nations such as France, Chile and Italy have more than halved since 2018 and continue to trend lower. "Australia has performed exceptionally well to get to a billion dollars," said Peter Bailey, market insights manager at Wine Australia. "There definitely has been a growth for Australia is not assured." China's trade barriers – imposed during a political spat between Beijing and Canberra in November 2020 – worsened Australia's wine glut, leading to huge inventories, a plunge in grape prices and a purge of vineyards. Wine Australia said China will not solve the oversupply problem as it is importing a smaller number of pricier bottles than before. Adding to those problems, Australia's wine exports to the rest of the world fell in the 12 months to March 31, it said. Bailey said Australia could benefit from Chinese tariffs on the United States, which will likely halt U.S. wine exports to China worth around $50 million a year, and from Canada's shift away from U.S. wine, but it was too early to know for sure.
West Australian
29-04-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Australian wine exports to China jump back above $1b but US market proving to be a challenge
Australian wine exports to mainland China have jumped back above $1 billion, one year after onerous tariffs of as much as 200 per cent were removed. Exports to the Middle Kingdom grew $1.01b to $1.03b in the 12 months to the end of March, according to fresh figures from industry body Wine Australia on Tuesday. Just under 100 million litres of wine were exported to China over the period as major local players, like Penfolds owner Treasury Wine Estates, resumed shipments. China last March dropped a crippling tariff of more than 200 per cent on local wine producers four years earlier. It was introduced alongside imposts on barley and coal in retaliation to questions from the Australian Government about the origins of COVID-19. Wine Australia said overall exports grew 41 per cent in value to $2.64b and by 6 per cent in volume to 647 million litres in the past year. The group's market insights manager Peter Bailey said the increase in average value was due to the elevated level of premium wine shipments to mainland China. '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 five-year average between 2016 and 2020 and 44 per cent below the peak in 2018,' he said. 'Additionally, the average value of packaged wine shipped to mainland China was $23 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.' But the US market is proving to be a challenge, with wine exports to the country declined $32m to $323m in the year to March — the lowest level since the early 2000s. This was even before US President Donald Trump slapped a 10 per cent tariff on all Australian imports, including wine. 'The global wine market is facing considerable headwinds which are impacting on results for other markets,' Wine Australia said. '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.'
