Imports
In the past 12 months, Australia increased its imports of wine by 7% to reach a total volume of 109ML (Table 9). Import value also grew by 8% to $902 million. Australians paid on average $8.27 per litre in 2021 for imported wine (see Table 10).
The volume of bottled wine imported rose to 68ML and this comprised 62% of all wine imported into Australia. While bottled red and white wines remained the most popular imported products, imports of bottled reds decreased by 17%.
The volume of bulk wine imported grew by 13% in 2021 to a record high of 41ML. Bulk still wine represents 82% of all the bulk wine imported with a total of 34ML (see Table 9). This is an increase of 21% from previous year.
France remained the primary source of imported wine for Australians, with French wines making up 46% of the market at a value of $414 million.
Imports from New Zealand continue to shrink, down by a further 11% in 2021. Overall, 279ML of Kiwi wine was imported into Australia. It’s expected that this downward trend will continue in 2022 due to last year’s smaller vintage in New Zealand.
Other notable increases were wines imported from both the USA and Chile. Imports of American wine increased by 108% to reach a value of $17 million, while Chilean wine imports grew by 139% to be valued at $4 million. Imports of Italian wine also grew, by 17%, recording a total value of $121 million (see Table 10). With both France and Chile expected to be the largest benefactors of the trade tensions between Australia and China, it remains to be seen if imports from these countries are able to keep up with growing Australian demand. It was widely reported in Australian media that during holiday seasons in 2021 certain major retailers had imposed buying limits on popular French Champagnes due to constrained stock levels.
Wine imports by type (‘000 litres) by year
| 2014-15 | 2015-16 | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | Change % in last 12 months | |
| Bottled wine | 62,179 | 68,503 | 68,914 | 65,538 | 67,846 | 4% | ||
| White | 35,583 | 37,514, | 36,456 | 31,728 | 26,487, | -17% | ||
| Red | 16,186 | 20,347 | 21,692 | 20,615 | 23,334 | 13% | ||
| Sparkling (bottle fermented) | 8,540 | 8,605 | 8,290 | 8,664 | 10,933 | 26% | ||
| Bottled other* | 1,870 | 2,038 | 2,476 | 4,531 | 7,091 | 57% | ||
| Bulk wine | 30,103 | 27,784 | 31,24 | 36,619 | 41,253 | 13% | ||
| Still wine | 24,422 | 20,699 | 22,489 | 27,948 | 33,727 | 21% | ||
| Sparkling (bulk fermented) | 5,614 | 7,054 | 8,726 | 8,640 | 7,485 | -13% | ||
| Bulk other | 67 | 31 | 29 | 31 | 41 | 32% | ||
| Grand Total | 92,282 | 96,287 | 100,158 | 102,157 | 109,099 | 7% |
*Includes brandy, fortified and carbonated wine
Source: ABS imports data from Global Trade Atlas analysis by Wine Australia
