Exporting Wine from Australia

Exporting Wine from Australia

Despite the fact that Australia is quite far away from Europe’s great wine-exporting nations, it is still making considerable progress in the global market, increasing its annual exports over 6% every year. This growth has been aided by consumer preferences as well as government investments which have led to increased fruit yields and higher-quality grapes. Trade agreements and free trade contracts have also been helpful for Australian exporters in their ability to reach international markets.

Furthermore, since distillation techniques and improving rural infrastructure began to take shape during the 20th century, wine and brandy shipments became more common throughout Australia. As a result of this continuing success, Australia’s beverage industry looks promising despite plenty of room for improvement.

Wine Australia

The Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation (AWBC) was established in 1981 to improve the premiumization of Australia’s wines through the creation of government legislation that fulfilled the country’s requirements for wine trading and export agreements. The efforts of AWBC have proved to be significant for Australia’s reputation as a world leader in winemaking and have been integral in providing an environment for wine industry statistics to grow over the last 40 years.

In 2010, the name was changed to Wine Australia, further demonstrating its commitment to being at the forefront of research and innovation within viticulture.

What Does Wine Australia Do?

The organization is responsible for:

• National and worldwide marketing of wine.
• Guaranteeing the integrity of wine labels.
• Ensuring producer compliance with wine-making techniques, worker regulations, etc.
• Assisting producers so they can raise the quality of grape products and increase demand across the country.
• Identifying and mapping the numerous production locations throughout Australia. Wine Australia identifies the grape varietals that may be used to make Australian wine and give specific names to the places and areas where these grapes are cultivated.
• Regulating the identification of the wine, for example, vintage or not, grape variety, or location.
• The legislation also provides space for Wine Australia to take on any future responsibilities related to grape products that may be necessary.

Statistics About the Australian Wine Industry

History of Sales from the Mid-1990s to 2009

The Australian wine industry experienced an extraordinary period of growth between the mid-1990s and mid-2000s fuelled by soaring demand from international customers. Miraculously, the industry managed to meet its 2025 sales target of $4.5 billion nine years ahead of schedule in 2005. This achievement was especially impressive considering the obstacles they encountered while expanding their operations. 2006-2007 saw a 30% decline in crop yields, and 2008-2009 recorded a 13% decrease compared to the preceding year due to water restraints, hot weather, and bushfires in Victoria [2]. Nevertheless, with dedication and perseverance, Australia’s wine producers have risen above these obstacles and shaped a profitable industry that continues to survive and thrive.

Wineries Between 1995 to 2021

The huge increase in exports could have been more accurately projected if the Australian government had predicted that there would be a dramatic increase in the number of wineries from 892 to 2008 between 1996 to 2006. This caused the number of people directly engaged in the industry to surge from 15,743 to over 31,000 between 1995 and 2006.

Did you know? In 2021 there were around 2156 wineries in Australia, which shows the Australian wine industry is still growing, just not at such a rapid rate as seen in the late 1990s to early 2000s.

Australian Wine Report for 2020-2021

The most recent wine report for 2020-2021 indicated that Australia exported 693 million liters of wine, totaling $2.6 billion in value. 24% of the monetary income of these exports came from China.

To learn more about the Australian wine market, you can read the previous reports by the Australian Government on the Wine Australia website.

Summary

Hopefully, you now understand the Australian government’s role in the Australian wine industry and how the birth of Wine Australia changed the Australian grape-product market in the past few decades.

Read The Day In Wine History’s previous post, Australian Wines: An Industry Against The Odds, for more information about the history of the Australian wine industry and how this relates to the Second World War.

On This Day

On 1st December 2008 – The Australia-EC Wine Agreement was finalized by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Stephen Smith, and the European Union Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mariann Fisher-Boel. As a result, Australia’s vineyards could continue to export their products to the biggest market in the world.

Immediately after the Australia-EC Wine Agreement was signed, Australia sold 397 million liters or $1.3 billion of wine to the EU during the 2007–2008 fiscal year alone. Additionally, Australia imported 18 million liters of wine from Europe, further highlighting the economic significance of this contract.

More resource: Australian Wines: An Industry against the Odds

Want to read more? Try this book!

References

1. Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation Amendment Bill 2009. (2022). Aph.gov.au. https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd0910/10bd021?print=1‌
2. Australia Bureau of Statistics. Shipments of Wine and Brandy in Australia by Australian Winemakers and Importers. Cat. No. 8504.0, ABS, Canberra, 2014. Austats. Web.
3. Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation Amendment Bill 2009. (2022). Aph.gov.au. https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd0910/10bd021?print=1
4. Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation Amendment Bill 2009. (2022). Aph.gov.au. https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd0910/10bd021?print=1
5. Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation Amendment Bill 2009. (2022). Aph.gov.au. https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd0910/10bd021?print=1
6. Australia Bureau of Statistics. Shipments of Wine and Brandy in Australia by Australian Winemakers and Importers. Cat. No. 8504.0, ABS, Canberra, 2014. Austats. Web.
7. Wine Australia https://www.wineaustralia.com/market-insights/australian-wine-sector-at-a-glance Despite the fact that Australia is quite far away from Europe’s great wine exporting nations, it is still making considerable progress in the global market, increasing its annual exports over 6% every year. This growth has been aided by consumer preferences as well as government investments which have led to increased fruit yields and higher quality grapes. Trade agreements and free trade contracts have also been helpful for Australian exporters in their ability to reach international markets. Furthermore, since distillation techniques and improving rural infrastructure began to take shape during the 20th century, shipments of wine and brandy began to become more common throughout Australia. As a result of this continuing success, the beverage industry in Australia looks promising despite there being plenty of room for improvement.