Wine Industry Report

Australian wine exports for the 12 months to November 2006 have reached a new record annual volume of 749 million litres.

Export volumes for the year ending November 2006 grew 8% to a record of 749 million litres. Value growthreturned this period growing 0.2% to A$2.79 billion with an average price decline of 7% to $3.73 per litre.

Note: MAT – Moving Annual Total

Growth in the period was principally in bulk wine shipments. Bulk shipments grew 40% to reach 206 million litres and accounted for a 27% share of the overall mix. The average price for the bulk wine shipped was A$1.06 per litre (fob). Half was shipped at A$1 per litre or less. This price segment doubled in the last 12 months. Bottled wine exports declined slightly – down 4 million litres to 527 million litres and the average price declined 3 cents to A$4.80 per litre.

China continued to make the major contribution to export growth with volume increasing more than six-fold and value almost tripling over the last year. Bulk red wine accounted for just over 70% of the shipments while bottled red wine contributed 19%.

The United Kingdom and United States remained Australia’s most significant export markets. The UK grew 4% to 269 million litres and value increased marginally to A$940 million. The US grew 5% to 214 million litres while value declined 3% to A$904 million. A decline in the average price per litre for both markets was partially due to increased bulk wine shipments. This influence was however partly offset in the UK by a modest 1.2 million litre increase in bottled shipments.

Exports to Sweden, Denmark and Ireland achieved double-digit growth over the past 12 months to reach records in both volume and value. Denmark grew in volume by 11% to 18 million litres and in value by 14% to A$51 million. Volume shipped to Sweden grew 30% to 16 million litres and value increased 18% to A$52 million. Volume shipped to Ireland grew 17% to 13 million litres and value grew 13% to A$58 million.