The Wine Australia Export Report for December 2015 shows that the value of Australian wine exports jumped 14 per cent to $AUD2.1 billion in 2015, reaching its highest value since October 2007.
Wine Australia CEO Andreas Clark said “Pleasingly, our latest Export Report shows that the value of Australian wine exports grew in each of the top 15 export markets in the year ended 31 December 2015.”
“This export growth should be warmly welcomed by the Australian grape growing and winemaking community as it is largely a result of their hard work.”
This is the first time that there has been growth in each of the top 15 markets in a calendar year, with the strongest growth being in China, which grew 66 per cent to $AUD370 million.
The value of exports increased at each price point and the largest increase was in wines with a free on board (FOB) value over $10 per litre. Sales of these wines grew by 35 per cent to a record $AUD480 million. They now make up 23 per cent of the value of Australia’s wine exports.
Bottled wine has been the key driver of the export success. Bottled exports increased by 17 per cent to $AUD1.6 billion and the average value increased by 7 per cent to $5.20 per litre. This is the highest value since 2003 on a calendar year basis.
There were 1,517 active exporters in 2015 (up from 1,395 in 2014) and Australian wine was exported to 122 destinations.
The top five markets by value are:
1. USA, which increased by 4 per cent to $443 million
2. UK (Australia’s number one market by volume), which increased 0.2 per cent to $376 million
3. China, which increased 66 per cent to $370 million
4. Canada, which increased 7 per cent to $193 million, and
5. Hong Kong, which increased 22 per cent to $132 million.