Laura Polson
(Australian Associated Press)
Drinkers around the world seem to be developing a taste for more expensive Australian wine, with the value of annual exports rising five per cent to $2.78 billion.
Wine Australia chief executive Andreas Clark says value increased despite export volumes declining three per cent over the 12 months to March due to a drop in lower priced categories.
“This places Australia well as the global consumer premiumises [sic] and drinks less but more expensive wines”, Mr Clark said on Wednesday.
Wines valued at $2.49 and under a litre dropped four per cent in the global market while wines valued at $100 to $199 jumped 86 per cent.
China spent the most on Australian wine at $1.1 billion, which is up seven per cent, followed by the US at $424 million, which was down three per cent.
Most Australian wine over the 12 months was sent to the UK, with 26.8 million nine-litre cases, followed by China with 17.1 million cases.
In Australia, 61 per cent of wine produced is exported, with 20.8 million glasses of Australian wine enjoyed overseas each day.
Treasury Wine Estates cautioned shareholders against using the export value data as an indicator of its sales performance, saying it was pleased with its performance across all regions in the nine months to March 2019.
This included positive momentum in Asia, including strong trading performance across the Chinese New Year festive period.
